The Fox and the Apocalypse
by Drk Phoenyx
Summary: Kurama is thrust into the world of hunters where angels and demons fight to control humanity. He finds himself forced to choose sides in a war that he has no business fighting in. Can the Hiei and Yusuke get him home? Post YYH and Suprnturl S6 Kurama/Hiei
1. Torn

_This is a re-write of my first fanfic—Misplaced Fox. I stopped updating Misplaced Fox when I realized that a) it had a giant plot hole and b) my writing had significantly improved since I originally posted this fic. _

_The basic story is still the same, but I've made several changes. Most notably, the story is now compliant with Season 6 of Supernatural (What can I say? I love Crowley). I've shored up the plot hole and added a lot more detail and dialogue. Also, the story is now told from third person instead of first person narrative. To those of you familiar with Misplaced Fox, I suggest reading this new version before moving on to the new chapters._

_So, without further ado…_

**Chapter One: Torn**

Kurama tossed his backpack near the desk and collapsed onto the bed. Burying his face in the pillow, he silently wondered if he could sneak in a nap before his mother called him down for supper. The young university student generally did not sleep in the middle of the day, but today had been particularly trying.

'_Sleep,' _Youko silently commanded. _'Shiori will come up in an hour or so and wake you up.'_

Kurama rolled onto his back and grumbled half to himself, "Can't, test."

The excuse earned him a mental snort from Youko, and Kurama supposed that the old kitsune had a point. After all, what were the ningens going to teach him that he didn't already know? The humans were still using leeches when he first began his studies.

'_You're beginning to sound like Hiei,' _Youko chuckled. _'If the ningens are such a bother, why do you persist?'_

Kurama thought a moment before answering. He'd asked himself that same question many times. _'I need it to find a job. Jobs in the botany field generally require a degree.'_

'_Or you could simply go back to the Makai,'_ Youko suggested. _'No one would demand your credentials there.'_

'_You know I can't do that, Youko,' _Kurama answered.

'_Can't or won't?' _ Youko asked. _'What are you afraid of? You can still return to the human world to visit Mother. Is your concern for Mother or are you worried about running into Him?'_

Silence was Youko's only answer as Kurama continued to sulk on the bed. Today had been bad enough already. The morning had started with crazed fan girls cornering him in the library. He had hoped the girls would thin out as he transitioned from high school to college, but now there were even more than before. Botan arrived during his last class of the day to elicit his help. A new demon lord had come through the barrier and was demanding that "Koenma's champions" come and face him. Turns out, the demon was a joke. Kuwabara could have handled him with one hand tied behind his back. The real problem was that the demon was openly using his powers in front of the humans. And then there was the pièce de résistance, Youko just had to bring up _Him._

'_I'm sorry, Kit,' _Youko apologized. _'I miss him too.'_

'_It's not your fault. I'm the one who drove Hiei away,' _Kurama answered.

It had been two years since Kurama had confessed his "inappropriate" feelings to his best friend. Since then, Kurama had only seen fleeting glimpses of the fire demon at Genkai's temple. At first, Kurama would make up excuses to see Yukina just to see his little fire demon. But after so many months without contact, Yukina became a painful reminder. Mostly, Kurama avoided the temple now.

'_It wasn't your fault, Kit,' _Youko reassured. _'You couldn't have known.'_

'_I should have,' _Kurama replied angrily.

Unwillingly, Kurama's thoughts returned to Hiei. Hiei had laughed when Kurama confessed. When Kurama didn't laugh back, Hiei became angry. The fire demon had thought it was some kind of sick joke. Despite all of his accomplishments, Hiei still didn't believe anyone could love the "Forbidden Child". Youko's reputation certainly didn't help either. Ultimately, Kurama thought that it was what drove Hiei to Mukuro.

"I see that all this time spent among the ningens has dulled your senses Fox."

Kurama's head shot up from the pillow and he stared out the bedroom window. Kurama's heart skipped a beat as he spotted Hiei sitting in a tree branch just outside. Scrambling out of bed, Kurama's feet became tangled in the sheets. The normally graceful fox tripped and fell spread eagle on the floor. Trying to maintain some modicum of dignity, Kurama slowly stood, brushed himself off, and placed the sheets back on the bed. Kurama watched Hiei's reactions as he approached the window. If Kurama didn't know better, he would have sworn that Hiei looked nervous.

A small smile played on Hiei's lips. "Can I come in?" Hiei asked.

"It's never locked," Kurama replied with an unsteady voice.

Hiei climbed through the window and quietly surveyed the room. After a moment, he perched on the edge of Kurama's desk and looked at the fox expectantly.

"So?" Kurama asked.

"Hnnn," Hiei replied and for a moment Kurama was afraid that it was all he was going to get from the younger demon. "Mukuro said she was tired of my sulking. She threw me out and told me to come back when 'my attitude improved'."

Kurama's eyes widened. It seemed that he had gained a very unlikely ally in the form of Mukuro, but he couldn't get his hopes up just yet. Tentatively, Kurama asked, "So why did you come back here?"

Hurt showed in Hiei's eyes. "Please don't make me say it. You were my best friend and my partner. I couldn't think of a better person to turn to."

"I've missed you too, Hiei."

Hiei studied the fox for a moment. "I—"

"Shuichi dinner!" Shiori's voice carried up the stairs.

"Just a minute Mother," Kurama called back. He refocused his attention on Hiei, but whatever the fire demon was about to say was lost. Kurama placed a comforting hand on Hiei's shoulder and said, "Come on Hiei. Join us for dinner. Mother will be happy to see you again."

Hiei allowed himself to be led to the bedroom door, but they never made it. Halfway across the room, Kurama abruptly doubled over in pain. "Kurama, what is it?"

"It's Youko," Kurama gasped.

Crippling pain incapacitated Kurama. He felt like his soul was being torn in half. It felt like some unseen force was trying to separate the boy from the fox, but Kurama wasn't giving up without a fight. The last thing Kurama saw before he lost consciousness was Hiei standing over him protectively with his sword drawn.

_So, love it or hate it? The first eleven chapters or so should come quickly since I already have a framework to start from. I'm going to try and finish chapter two today. The little button at the bottom makes updates come faster. As always, thanks for reading. _


	2. Through the Looking Glass

_Thanks guys. This story has gotten reviews, alerts, and favorites faster than any other story I've written. I have no choice but to post chapter 2 quickly._

_Enjoy, and don't forget to vote at the end._

**Chapter Two: Through the Looking Glass**

'_Kit? Kit! Wake up!'_

Kurama felt like his head was on fire. Groaning, Kurama struggled to sit up, but laid back down as he immediately felt nauseas. Remaining still Kurama used his spiritual senses to survey the room.

'_Three humans—two living, one dead—and three non-humans,'_ Youko confirmed.

Kurama sniffed the air experimentally, the metallic scent of fresh blood hung in the air. Kurama's sensitive nose picked up the smell of a dead body about three feet to his right. There were two more humans across the room. Female, he could hear them crying and it smelled like one (possibly both) of them had pissed herself. There were three more occupants in the room. At first, Kurama thought they were human, but there was a second underlying scent. They reeked of blood and sulfur. _'What are those, Youko?'_

'_I don't know. I've never encountered anything like them in the Makai or human worlds,'_ Youko replied.

Something about the smell of brimstone triggered a memory. Kurama recalled learning some of the Judeo-Christian legends concerning demons. In fact, Kurama and Yusuke had once met a Catholic priest during one of their adventures. Yusuke jokingly asked the man to exorcise his best friend. In response, the priest calmly asked Yusuke if he'd been taking all of his medications.

Voices drifted from the far end of the room. "We performed the ritual correctly. This kid just showed up. I can't read his ID; it's in Chinese or something. "

'_I never thought those English classes would come in handy,' _Kurama thought._ 'Sounds like Americans.'_

A second voice joined the first. It was clear that both speakers were fearful of the third occupant, because both held a nervous tremor. "Let us kill the boy and try again. We've got two more virgins."

Kurama bristled at the last comment, which did not go unnoticed by the room's other occupants. "Well, well. It appears that sleeping beauty is awake."

Kurama stood slowly and faced the three strange men. The last speaker had a British accent and an air of confidence. He appeared to be a human in his mid-forties standing just under 6' tall with dark, receding hair. Kurama immediately picked him as the leader. He was flanked by two men in their early thirties; both were blond with dark eyes and powerfully built. These two men (brothers?) looked like nothing more than hired muscle.

"Ivan, be a dear and take out the trash, will you?" Ivan picked up the dead girl and left the room.

The dark haired man looked at Kurama apologetically. "It's so hard to find good help nowadays. Name's Crowley. I'd shake your hand but…"

Crowley looked meaningfully at the floor and Kurama automatically followed his gaze. There was a strange occult pattern traced out in chalk on the floor. Kurama had no idea what the symbols meant. He could see that the outside edge was a circle lined with a white powder, but that was all he could tell.

"Can you understand me?" Crowley asked loudly. Kurama nodded. "Good. I'll make you a deal," Crowley continued. "If you can walk out of the circle, then I know you're human. I'll have Joseph here end your miserable existence and we can go about our day. If you can't walk out of this circle, than you are something far more interesting. You can come back with us and we'll have a nice little _chat _about purgatory before I finish you personally."

'_Charming fellow,'_ Youko commented. _'What's the powder?'_

Kurama licked a fingertip and dipped it in the powder. He sniffed it once experimentally before cautiously tasting it. "Salt?" Kurama said incredulously.

Crowley raised an eyebrow, "We're waiting. I still need a kitsune and I have two more virgins just dying to help me."

Kurama carefully stepped over the chalk outline and palmed a seed from his hair. "Human then. Joseph!" Crowley called and motioned towards Kurama.

Joseph pulled a knife and lunged towards Kurama.

'_This fool's even slower than Kuwabara,'_ Kurama smirked. The fox tripped the larger man and sidestepped the attack. A small push as Joseph stumbled past sent the oaf sprawling onto the floor inside the circle. Joseph stood quickly, but just as Kurama expected the strange creature couldn't leave the circle.

'_Lucky,'_ Kurama thought. While Joseph landed inside the circle, his knife landed outside. Kurama scooped up the blade and turned to face Crowley.

"Ivan!" Crowley shouted and the second creature reentered the room.

Kurama was now convinced the two were brothers. Ivan made the same boneheaded rush as Joseph. Joseph came at Kurama at full speed. He was full of power but no real skill. Kurama easily danced out of the way of each new attack. After just a few minutes Joseph had worn himself out. With Joseph's movements now sloppy and slow, Kurama darted in and attacked. The fool never even saw the knife. As soon as the blade struck home, black smoke billowed from Joseph's mouth and the body fell boneless to the floor.

"Inari," Kurama swore.

"Well, maybe you're a player after all—" Crowley paused as he heard a car pull up. "Well looks like fun time's over folks."

Kurama followed his gaze to a black Chevy Impala parked in the driveway. When he turned back around Crowley was gone. A moment later Kurama heard someone break open the front door followed by two sets of footsteps running up the stairs. Kurama decided that his best course of action was to play the victim. He quickly folded the knife and waited for his rescuers to arrive.

Seconds later a man-mountain charged in brandishing a 9 mm. Kurama raised his hands submissively, but was careful to keep a hold of the rose seed. Behind him, one of the girls cried out and they cowered even further back into the corner.

"Winchesters," Joseph spat angrily.

A shorter man, also armed, followed the mountain and went to check on the girls. "Who did this?" the second man asked as the other stood guard.

"There were three men," one girl blubbered. "They killed our friend Liz and they were going to kill us too."

"Him?" the man asked, pointing at Kurama.

Kurama snorted. "No," the girl replied. "The dead guy, the one in the circle, and some scary British guy."

"Do you know what they were doing?" Man-mountain asked.

"They were trying to summon something, but it didn't work right. They got him instead," she pointed to Kurama. "He's the one who saved us."

"I'm Dean and this is my brother Sam," Dean nodded towards Sam as introduced him. "Do you girls live around here?" Kurama shook his head, but both girls nodded. "Good. Sammy, why don't you take these girls home?"

Sam looked at Kurama wearily, but nodded and holstered his weapon. Dean waited for Sam to escort the ladies out before turning back to Kurama. "So, who the hell are you?"

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_Thanks for all the support guys. I'm running a poll, but you have to review to cast your vote._

_Do you want to see Dean/Castiel, Dean/Lisa, or neither? 1 review=1 vote, review 2 chapters and you get 2 votes._


	3. Q & A

_I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but there are a few points you need to know for this story._

_This story will be set after the episodes "The French Mistake" and "My Heart Will Go On," but before "Frontierland." For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the latest season: the idea of parallel dimensions is now a part of show cannon, Castiel is still "one of the guys," and Sam's soul is fully intact._

**Chapter Three: Q & A**

"Perhaps, you should be less concerned about me and more concerned with that _thing_ behind me," Kurama suggested sweetly.

"He's not going anywhere," Dean replied, glancing briefly at the devil's trap. Dean's brow furrowed as he continued examining the room. "You knew they weren't human. Are you a Hunter?"

Something about the way Dean said the word "hunter" raised the hairs on the back of Kurama's neck. Weighing his options carefully, Kurama decided a noncommittal answer would be best. "I suppose that's one way that you could describe what I do. I've certainly been called worse. What do you mean when you say _hunter_?"

Dean relaxed slightly. "Someone who knows that there are other things out there, like this chuckle head," Dean nodded to the trapped demon. "We study monsters, track 'em, kill 'em."

'_Kit, I believe it's time for a strategic retreat,'_ Youko thought.

'_I couldn't agree more,' _Kurama replied, _'but you're forgetting one little thing. I'm almost certain that this isn't Japan.'_

'_You're point?' _Youko inquired.

'_I didn't bring my passport. Did you?'_

'_Stupid ningen invention,'_ Youko muttered and fell silent.

"I'm not a Hunter, but I have a friend that I think meets your description. I help him out occasionally," Kurama replied.

"That explains why you knew how to take him out," Dean smiled and put the safety back on his gun.

"Honestly, I didn't know. Yusuke and I usually fight yokai, mozaku, and occasionally humans. I've never met a creature like this one," Kurama looked at Dean curiously.

Dean smiled wickedly and pulled out an old leather bound journal. "Observe," Dean said and began chanting.

'_What language is that, Kit?' _ Youko asked.

'_Latin, I believe. It's used in plant classifications, but I can't understand what he's saying,' _Kurama replied.

The trapped demon threw vile insults at Kurama and Dean as the hunter continued chanting. After a minute or two the demon began thrashing and Dean's voice grew louder. The whole situation culminated with the demon releasing a loud keening sound and black smoke issuing from its mouth.

Dean waited another moment and broke the circle with his foot. The hunter bent down and checked for a pulse. Dean cursed and rose wearily. "Welcome to your first exorcism kid. Now it's your turn, and don't make me ask a third time. Who? Are? You?"

"Shuichi Minamino, I'm a first year botany student at Meiou University," Kurama replied coolly.

Dean's frown deepened with each new foreign word. "And where is this university exactly?"

"Japan, which is where I was a few hours ago," Kurama replied. "I was hoping to borrow your phone."

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Koenma was sitting behind a rather immense stack of paperwork talking to George when a resounding "thud!" cut them off. It was the first and last warning either of them got. Koenma's door flew off its hinges causing George to shout a warning to the guards outside.

Three ogres bearing axes charged into the room only to be stopped short by a squeak from Koenma. "Tell your guards to leave us," Hiei growled and pressed his sword closer to Koenma's throat.

George blanched and shooed the guards outside and closed the doors. No doubt, the guards were already on their way to King Enma's office. "Permission to cower and hide, Sir?" George asked his boss.

"Denied, Ogre," Koenma barked. Koenma swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and ran the situation through his head. For the life of him, he couldn't think of any action he'd done that would set Hiei off. At least not recently; he hadn't seen the feisty fire demon in two years. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Hiei?" Koenma asked as soothingly as the situation allowed.

Hiei was not easily swayed and didn't loosen the grip on his sword as he growled an answer. "Where's the fox?"

From the furthest corner of the room, George exchanged a confused look with Koenma. Koenma gave the smallest shake of his head and George answered. "Kurama was helping my lord yesterday. He left here around 2 o'clock. That's the last time we saw him." Inspiration struck the ogre like a bolt of lightning. He could get Hiei to release Koenma and get a small measure of revenge at the same time. "As you can see," George gestured towards the towering stacks of paperwork, "My lord is behind on his work. The answers you seek might be in there."

Hiei pressed his sword closer just long enough to leave a thin, angry scratch on Koenma's throat. "Find him," he growled.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Kurama frowned as he passed the cell phone back to Dean. "Find what you're looking for?" the hunter asked.

Kurama shook his head. "Nothing, it doesn't make any sense." Kurama's calls had all ended in failure. His mother's phone number belonged to a ramen shop. He'd managed to speak to Atsuko briefly, but the whole exchange left the fox even more confused. In between spurts of drunken bawling, Atsuko told him the story of how her only son had been killed in a gang war about five years ago. The rest of his friends' phone numbers had been disconnected.

"Care to share?" Sam asked as he rejoined Dean and Kurama.

"Did you get the girls home alright?" Kurama asked. Sam nodded and the fox smiled wanly. "I tried calling my friends back home. Most of the numbers had been disconnected. I got hold of Yusuke's mom, but she says he died five years ago. I saw Yusuke this morning. What's the date?"

Ordinary people might have been thrown by the unorthodox question, but Dean didn't miss a beat. "June 6, 2011."

"It's not time travel then," Kurama replied quietly.

Sam and Dean came to a conclusion at the same time. "Balthazar!" they shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite follow," Kurama said.

"Do you believe in parallel dimensions?" Sam asked.

"We're going to need Cas," Dean groaned.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Three hours and three feet of paperwork later, Koenma and George were no closer to finding Kurama than Hiei. For all intents and purposes, the fox had vanished from all three worlds approximately six hours ago.

Yusuke and Kuwabara entered his office with Botan in tow. "Thank you, Botan," Koenma said.

"What's up toddler?" Yusuke called jovially.

"Kurama's missing," Koenma replied blandly.

Kuwabara spied Hiei in the corner and did a double take. He nudged Yusuke and pointed. "Hey look, it's the runt."

Yusuke's eyes narrowed. "You have some nerve coming back here."

Koenma, Kuwabara, and Botan were stunned by the venom in Yusuke's voice. "Hey Binky Boy, you sure that he didn't just run away?"

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_You guys rock! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I try to answer all reviews, but I think I missed a few replies last chapter. I apologize; they changed the account format on this website and I'm still relearning how to use it. _

_Cas will be showing up next chapter, so this will be your last chance to vote for your favorite Dean pairing. _

_Until next time, thanks for reading and please REVIEW._


	4. Rules of the Road

_Some spoilers for episode 6.15 "The French Mistake."_

_Dean/Cas won the vote by a narrow margin (11 to 9, last count). There will be light hints of Dean/Cas, but nothing major. Some innuendo used mainly for comic relief. As one reviewer pointed out, too many pairings tend to detract from the story (I'm paraphrasing of course)._

_This chapter goes out to Amethystnight88._

**Chapter Four: Rules of the Road**

"Alright," Dean announced as they packed the weapons back into the Impala. "I have a few rules before I let you in my baby." Dean patted the hood and looked expectantly at Kurama.

Kurama raised an eyebrow. "Such as," he replied, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Dean smiled, "First rule, I drive. Always. Rule two: driver picks the music. Finally, no one gets in my car before I'm sure they are what they say they are."

Kurama's brow furrowed, "I'm not sure I follow."

Sam pulled a silver flask from the glove compartment and Kurama could see a cross embossed on the front. "There are a couple of _tests_," Dean replied as Sam tossed the flask to Dean. "Bottoms up," Dean took a deep swig from the flask. Replacing the cap, Dean tossed the flask to Kurama.

Kurama removed the cap and sniffed the contents experimentally. He looked back at the unfazed hunter and shrugged. He finished the contents of the flask in seconds.

'_Water?' _Youko asked.

'_A bit stale, but yeah,'_ Kurama inspected the flask carefully. _'Holy water, perhaps?'_

"Give me your hand," Sam commanded firmly. Kurama complied a bit hesitantly. Sam took Kurama's hand in a strong grip and pulled out a knife.

Kurama pulled his hand back, easily breaking the hunter's grasp. Sam looked mildly impressed. "I promise, the cut won't be deep. Shapeshifters, wraiths, and a great many other creatures are deathly allergic to silver."

Kurama thought carefully, silver didn't pose any harm to him. With a feral grin he quickly and gracefully disarmed Sam. He made a shallow cut on his own forearm and passed the knife back hilt first.

Sam seemed a bit shaken, but he continued digging through the glove box. "Alright, just a few more tests…"

The sun was starting to sink below the horizon as Sam and Dean concluded the tests."Well, that settles it," Sam said, repacking supplies. "He's human."

"Or he's a creature we've never encountered before," Dean replied and Kurama's hackles rose. "Just messing with you, Kid."

The trip to Bobby's began with Dean and Sam explaining much of the events of the last two years. They told Kurama fanciful tales of angels, demons, and averting The Apocalypse. And the brothers spoke of their experiences involving parallel worlds.

Kurama rested his head against the backseat of the Impala and watched the two brothers carefully. "I'm not sure I heard you correctly," Kurama said slowly, being careful to use small words. "You were sent to a different reality by an _angel_. To a reality you were actors pretending to be Sam and Dean?"

The brothers nodded. "Cas had Balthazar send us there to protect us from an angel civil war," Dean said.

"Huh-uh. And the guy who brought me here, Crowley, he's a demon?" Kurama asked.

"Crowley's been the King of Hell since we defeated Lucifer last year," Sam supplied.

'_Kit, we really need to get out of here. These two are nuts!' _Youko said nervously.

'_I believe the technical term would be paranoid schizophrenic with a narcissistic personality disorder and religious psychosis,'_ Kurama replied.

'_Not helping, Kit! These two kill anything even remotely supernatural. What are we waiting for?' _Youko asked.

'_A handwritten invitation,' _Kurama answered and Youko sputtered. _'If they're telling the truth, these _angels_ may be our only way home.'_

The headlights of an oncoming car briefly illuminated the backseat. Sam got a look of Kurama's face and laughed. "You don't believe a word of this, do you?"

"It's not that exactly," Kurama said with a heavy sigh. "I've seen things that I don't think even you'd believe. Still, your story does seem highly improbable."

"How else would you explain your missing friends?" Dean asked with a touch of amusement in his voice.

Kurama shook his head, "I don't know. I believe that parallel dimensions are a possibility. It's angels, demons, God, and Lucifer that I'm having difficulty with."

Dean chuckled dryly, "We'll try to contact Cas when we get to Bobby's. Just stick with us until then."

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

"You're positive that Kurama's missing. You're sure it's not that he just doesn't want to be found?" Yusuke asked Koenma while staring daggers at Hiei.

"Yusuke," Koenma sighed. "I'm positive. I've checked all the reports from all three worlds. I have ferry girls out there now doing a manual search of Kurama's most likely hideouts. I also have agents checking any possible enemies."

Yusuke had the decency to look impressed, but still the timing seemed too coincidental. "What do you need from us Koenma? We'll do whatever it takes to get the old fox home."

"I've got a contact on the American naval base in Yokosuka. I want you to accompany Botan as she procures her services," Koenma answered.

Botan looked almost giddy, "Do you mean Pam? It's been forever!" She squealed like a schoolgirl and then got a good look at Hiei. Her excitement faded quickly. "I'm sorry Hiei. Despite the circumstances, I'm happy that I get to see an old friend."

Hiei grunted. "Is this woman a kitsune or an expert on yokai?" Hiei asked skeptically.

Koenma shook his head, "No, Pam is human and one of Genki's earlier students. Since Genki's death, she's been the most powerful psychic in Japan."

Anxious to have something useful to do, Yusuke turned to the rest of the team. "What are we waiting for guys? Let's find this psychic and bring Kurama home."

"Let's just hope this woman's not a psycho old bat like Genki," Kuwabara remarked.

Yusuke shuddered involuntarily.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

The fox and the hunters pulled into the Singer Salvage Yard shortly after midnight. The Impala's headlights cast an eerie glow, throwing strange shadows. Kurama quietly stared out the window as the Impala passed ruined husks of old cars. Dean parked the car and the trio quietly approached the house.

A flannel clad man answered the door and ushered the brothers inside. He paused upon seeing Kurama and looked questioningly at Dean, but Kurama didn't wait for the hunter to make the introductions. Kurama bowed politely and introduced himself. "Thank you for welcoming me into your home Mr. Singer. My name is Shuichi Minamino."

Bobby stared wide-eyed at the polite young man. "Sorry, it's rare that these two idjits bring back company and I don't think they've ever brought back someone this polite."

"He's passed all the usual tests, Sir," Sam remarked.

Bobby grunted in response. "What are you doing with these two?" Bobby asked in perfect Japanese as he allowed Kurama inside.

Startled, Kurama told Bobby the tale of his arrival and a little bit about himself. He kept all the interesting parts to himself, of course, and told Bobby about his family and school. In the end, he left the older man feeling like he knew Shuichi Minamino, college freshman.

Afterwards, Bobby led Kurama to a small guest bedroom upstairs. Most of the room was occupied by heavy stacks of books, but the bed was clear. Kurama browsed the available titles and collapsed onto the bed with a book on angel lore.

Listening carefully, Kurama could just make out Bobby talking with the Winchesters. The subject of the conversation seemed to be himself, but Kurama couldn't pick out the details. Sighing, Kurama rolled onto his back and began reading. The hunters would trust him or they wouldn't. It would be more convenient if they were to trust him, but Kurama was a resourceful sort.

Kurama was fast asleep by the time Bobby and the Winchesters headed upstairs. Seeing the light, Sam walked over to check on their new acquaintance. Seeing Kurama sprawled on the bed with an open book on his chest, he smiled and flicked off the light.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_Sam and Dean's reality hopping adventures are from episode 6.15 "The French Mistake."_

_Dean's psych profile is from episode 5.11 "Sam Interrupted."_

_It is revealed in episode 4.06, "Yellow Fever," that Bobby speaks Japanese fluently._

_As always, I can use your guys' feedback and suggestions. Please REVIEW._


	5. Roads not Taken

_This chapter came in a moment of pure artistic lunacy. I'm afraid that people will either love it or hate it. Either way, it's original. Please take a moment to review at the end of the chapter. Did you like, hate it, or take a moment to demand that I rewrite it._

**Chapter Five: Roads not Taken**

Kurama woke before the rest of the household and quietly made his way downstairs. He'd tried his best to ignore it the night before, but the truth was that Bobby lived in a pigsty. He checked the house's common areas for activity and picked up empty beer bottles as he went. He found no one awake yet. Spying a box of trash bags under an end table, and bagged the collection of beer bottles and empty take-out containers that he'd found moldering around the living and dining rooms.

Kurama saved the kitchen for last. The fox walked into the kitchen and immediately wished he hadn't. His sensitive nose was assaulted with a host of foul smells, most he could not identify (and he didn't feel that he wanted to). Taking shallow breaths through his mouth, Kurama continued to collect the trash.

'_How can anyone live like this?'_ Youko asked, clearly disgusted.

Kurama let out an exasperated sigh, _'Career bachelors. Still, even Atsuko's place isn't this bad'_

'_Why are you wasting your time with this? It isn't our responsibility,' _Youko asked.

'_First, we're guests in this house and we should try to contribute,' _Kurama answered. _'And more importantly, I don't want to eat anything that comes out of this kitchen. Do you?'_

Youko didn't answer. Instead Youko showed Kurama images of some of the more _peculiar _things he'd eaten in the past. Kurama liked to think that he had a strong stomach, but some of the things disgusted even him.

'_Alright, forget I asked,' _Kurama thought with disgust. Youko snickered.

Kurama threw the trash bags onto the porch and turned his attention to the sink full of dirty dishes. He didn't waste any time and immediately ran hottest water he could stand into the sink. Thirty minutes later, Sam walked downstairs and helped Kurama dry the last of the dishes.

"I can't believe you accomplished all of this so early," Sam commented as he returned the glasses to the appropriate cabinets.

Kurama smiled and glanced meaningfully at the clock. It was about ten minutes before eleven o'clock. Sam followed his gaze and chuckled, "You have a point. Sorry, hunters tend to be night owls. Occupational hazard."

"Do you think Bobby would mind if I cooked some breakfast?" Kurama asked respectfully.

"Are you kidding?" Sam laughed. "I'll help you."

Together they were able to find some eggs in the fridge and a pound of bacon in the freezer. Sam set the microwave to defrost and checked the cupboards. "Ah ha!" Sam said as he held up a box of Bisquick. Kurama began work on the pancakes as Sam monitored the bacon and scrambled eggs. Kurama's keen hearing picked up signs of movement upstairs within seconds of the bacon touching the frying pan.

Bobby and Dean walked into the kitchen just as Kurama was finishing the pancakes. Dean smiled brightly at Kurama and turned to Bobby. "Can we keep him?"

"Great," Bobby mumbled. "Just what I needed, a damned morning person."

Kurama did his best to hide his amusement as Sam choked on his orange juice. Kurama fixed a plate for himself and encouraged the hunters to help themselves. The hunters each dished eggs and pancakes onto their respective plates and then spent a few minutes fighting over the bacon.

Breakfast was a relatively quiet affair. Kurama watched quietly as the hunters quickly devoured the meal. "Thank you, Suji," Dean said still nibbling on his last slice of bacon.

"Shuichi," Bobby corrected and Dean simply shrugged. Kurama sighed and shrugged.

"Do you have a nickname or something we can use?" Sam asked diplomatically.

"My friends call me Kurama," Kurama replied, pronouncing the name slowly and carefully. Dean and Sam repeated the name until Kurama and Bobby were satisfied with their pronunciation.

Kurama rose and began collecting dishes, but Bobby stopped him. "You've done enough already. Dean will get these in a few minutes."

"Hey!" Dean protested and Sam and Kurama laughed.

"Are you guys related?" Kurama asked curiously.

"Nah," Dean answered. "But Bobby's been like a father to us. Our dad wasn't around much while we were growing up."

"Their mother died when Sam was still a babe and I've been watching after these two idjits since their father died a few years back," Bobby added.

"My apologies," Kurama said. "I didn't realize."

"No need for apologies," Dean replied. "How about you, Kurama? Where are your folks?"

Kurama pulled his wallet from his wallet and dug out a picture of Shiori and passed it to Dean. "I never knew my father. He died when I was young. My mother raised me by herself."

Dean inspected the worn photograph and passed it to Bobby. As the photo changed hands a second photo fell onto the table. Kurama came to the panicked realization that the two photos must've been stuck together. Completely unaware of Kurama's anxiety, Dean innocently picked up the second photo.

Dean's face turned scarlet as he looked over the photo. "What the hell is this?"

Kurama knew exactly what was in the second photo. It had been taken a short time before the Dark Tournament in front of Genki's temple. Yusuke was at the center of the photo with Genki in front and slightly to his right. Genki was shooting the boy a perturbed look like something Yusuke had just said annoyed her. To Yusuke's left, Kuwabara stood straight and proud. He had a dorky grin on his face and his left hand was resting on Yukina's shoulder. The ice maiden was in front of Kuwabara and studying his hand with a very confused expression. Shizuru was at the edge of photo and she looked like she was preparing to hit Kuwabara. To Yusuke's immediate right was the lovely Keiko staring at the oblivious Spirit Detective with her hands on her hips. Kurama was standing on Keiko's other side with a bemused smile on his face and one hand near Hiei's shoulder. The fire demon was situated in front and between Kurama and Keiko and he looked like he'd rather be anywhere else. George was standing on Kurama's other side rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head. Most likely, Koenma had just smacked the ogre. The godling in question was standing in front of George.

Kurama remembered the day fondly. Koenma had coerced them into standing still for just one picture. They had held stood still for one perfectly posed picture and then resorted to their usual antics. Botan had been taking the camera off the tripod and couldn't resist taking one more photo. Despite the pictures imperfections, it was Kurama's favorite picture of the group. It seemed to capture the personality of each teammate. Unfortunately, there was no logical way to explain the hulking blue ogre at the edge of the photograph.

Kurama pretended to rub the back of his neck, mimicking a nervous gesture he'd seen many humans do. He palmed a rose seed from his hair before lowering his arms. "That is my friend George."

"George?" Dean repeated. "You're friend is a giant blue demon named _George_?"

"Hold your horses, Hoss," Bobby said and pulled the photo from Dean's grip. He looked over each member and could scarcely believe his eyes. He immediately recognized three of them and he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew the old lady. "It's not a demon it's an ogre. They're benign, big sissies afraid of their own shadows."

"I'm sorry. Who are you and what have you done with my friend Bobby?" Dean asked his voice dripping with venom. "He doesn't defend monsters; he kills them."

"The barrier between worlds is thinnest in Japan. Humans sometimes slip into the Makai without even realizing it. Sometimes creatures slip into our world—yokai, apparitions, ogres—they're neither good nor evil, just different," Bobby replied.

"George is the personal assistant of my former employer," Kurama explained.

"What kind of work leads to having an ogre as a personal assistant?" Dean asked, clearly still suspicious.

"Dean," Bobby said in warning.

"It's alright," Kurama reassured the older hunter. "I was part of a special team that ensured that the average citizen didn't find out about apparitions, yokai, and other such creatures."

"I don't know about this," Dean said angrily and stood up from the kitchen table. "Give me some time to think about this. Sammy found us a job a few towns from here."

Bobby and Kurama followed the younger hunters around the house as they gathered supplies. "Just what kind of job is this?" Kurama asked as the boys loaded the Impala.

"Simple haunting, we shouldn't be gone more than a day or two," Dean answered as he opened the driver's side door.

Sam, who'd been relatively silent up to this point, corrected his brother. "Haunting, yes. Simple, no. The residents are claiming to see mounted knights throughout the town."

"In North America?" Kurama asked.

Dean nodded. "And don't you even think about leaving. If you're not here when I get back, I'll hunt you personally."

'_Yeah. Good luck with that,'_ Youko responded.

Bobby waited until the Impala was safely away before tossing Kurama a set of keys and a roll of bills. Pointing to his truck, Bobby said, "Looks like you're stuck with me for a few days. Take the truck and pick up some groceries. Store's on this road about 3 miles to the south. Pick up some more beer while you're at it. Tank's almost empty, so don't get any ideas."

Kurama nodded and made his way to the truck. A sudden thought struck him as he coaxed life into the old Ford. _'Youko! They forgot to call Cas.'_

Youko groaned silently.

Bobby watched Kurama's departure before heading back to the house. It took him another fifteen minutes to get back to his bedroom and dig out his old compact communicator. He found it half buried in his sock drawer.

Koenma answered his call after only a few brief moments of static. "Bobby! We haven't seen you in forever!"

Koenma looked no different from when Bobby had first met him 35 years earlier. The toddler was sucking a pacifier and sitting behind a massive desk. Paperwork was piled higher than Koenma was tall. Behind him was a tall blonde ogre with a single horn protruding from his forehead.

"I don't suppose your name is George?" he asked the ogre.

"Yes, well actually its Jorge, Jorge Saotome, but everyone calls me George. I don't know why. I like my name and all. I think it started when—"George rambled until Koenma cut him off.

"Mr. Singer I don't hear from you in more than three decades and you call to interrogate my assistant?"

Bobby snorted, "I met a kid that I think you should meet. He was carrying a picture of you, George, and the twins. I could be wrong, but I think Genki was in the picture too."

"What's the kid's name?" Koenma asked as he logged onto a computer.

"Shuichi Minamino," Bobby answered.

Koenma typed a few things into the computer, sat back, and waited. After about three minutes, the computer chimed and Koenma inspected the page. "Shuichi Minamino, born premature to Shiori Minamino. The boy died about three days later, still in the hospital. The mother died five years ago from Leukemia."

"Well that gives us squat," Bobby replied.

Koenma leaned discussed something quietly with George before turning back to Bobby. "Things have been pretty quiet here. We've been hearing rumors that angels have been trying to start the Apocalypse early. I'm sending my new Spirit Detective to meet you. We can kill two birds with one stone."

"If you're concerned about the apocalypse, you're a little late," Bobby remarked. "Call me with the details and I'll pick him up at the airport."

Koenma smirked, "I'll make the arrangements on my end and call you later tonight. I'll send a ferry girl to try and locate the twins."

Bobby groaned as he hung up with Koenma. All he could do was wait and pray. Maybe he'd get lucky and Koenma wouldn't be able to locate the twins. The hunter snorted. Yeah, and maybe Crowley will start serving ice cream in Hell.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Two days later, Bobby found himself standing at the exit of the TSA's security checkpoint in the Sioux Falls Regional Airport. According to Koenma, Kuwabara and the twins would be arriving on United Airlines Flight 5979 from Chicago.

The Winchesters still hadn't returned from their trip and he'd barely seen Kurama in the three days since his arrival. The boy scrounged up every book on parallel dimensions and angel lore he could find and secluded himself in the guestroom. He only emerged long enough to prepare and eat meals. Over dinner, Kurama would ask questions about Castiel or other items he found in the lore. Bobby had to admit that the boy was adjusting to everything remarkably well.

Bobby looked at the Arrivals board and noted that Kuwabara's flight had been delayed again. The hunter continued to amuse himself by watching the TSA officials. He watched as one very hairy overweight official patted down an elderly woman. The passenger in question was at least 75 yrs old and could scarcely walk since she couldn't take her walker through security. _'Just what are these idjits expecting to find?' _he wondered.

Bobby continued to watch the idiotic bureaucracy swearing that he'd never board another aircraft in his life until a voice came over the PA system. "United Airways Flight 5979 from Chicago is now arriving at Gate E."

"Finally," Bobby muttered glancing at his watch. It was 8:18 PM. "Only forty minutes late."

The airport in Sioux Falls was relatively small, so Bobby didn't have to wait long for the passengers to start trickling out of the security checkpoint. It was impossible to miss the twins. They were like wolves in a herd of sheep. Neither twin spoke a word, yet the humans moved instinctively to give them a wide berth. Standing beside the twins was a tall Japanese woman with long brown hair. Bobby recognized her as one of the people in Kurama's photo.

"Hiei! Yukina!" Bobby called.

A pair of heads swiveled simultaneously to meet Bobby's gaze. Hiei's hand drifted to where his sword typically rested and would probably still rest if he'd been able to get it on the plane. Bobby wondered (not for the first time) how Koenma had managed to get the volatile twins on a plane. Yukina _maybe_, but not her brother.

Bobby reached the trio and offered the tall woman his hand. "And you must be Kuwabara," he said in Japanese. "Name's Bobby. A pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, I'm sure. Call me Shizuru," she replied. "I take it that you've met the twins."

Hiei grunted, "He worked on a few cases with Kuroko Sanada." Yukina nodded, but she remained quiet. Bobby wasn't surprised; the ice apparition had always preferred to let her brother do the talking.

Bobby and Shizuru moved towards baggage claim while the twins continued towards the exit. "Where are you two headed?" Shizuru called after them.

"Outside," Yukina answered in a quiet voice. "We've been cooped up with these filthy ningens for far too long. We'll find you when you leave."

Hiei nodded and the pair walked out. "Well I'm glad to see that time hasn't made them any more sociable," Bobby commented.

Shizuru snorted, "Come on, let's grab the bags. I need a cigarette."

The sun was setting as he loaded the luggage into the trunk. "I love what you've done to the décor," Shizuru commented as she noticed the symbol on the inside of the trunk. "Does it have a practical purpose?"

"Devil's Trap, perfect for containing demons," Bobby answered. Seeing Hiei's dark look, he amended. "Not yokai, demons like in the Judeo-Christian lore."

Hiei relaxed a bit. "So this nonsense about angels, demons, and The Apocalypse?" Shizuru asked.

"True," Bobby answered. "It's a bit of a drive; I'll fill you in on the way."

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_Coming in Chapter Six…_

_Kurama meets the twins, the Winchesters find knights in South Dakota, and Youko's fate will be revealed._

_In 4.06—"Yellow Fever" it's revealed that Bobby is fluent in Japanese in 6.04—"Weekend at Bobby's" Bobby mentions killing an Okami while in Japan._

_What little information I have on the Sioux Falls Airport came from its website. If I'm portraying it wrong, I apologize. The flight information is as accurate as I could make it._

_If you haven't noticed already, I like to weave pieces of the series into my story. If you have a favorite episode, I'd love to hear it. Maybe I'll use it._


	6. Flirting with Disaster

_I realized as I was reading the reviews for last chapter that this really isn't a rewrite anymore. This story took on a life of its own. I'm honestly not sure what I was thinking at the time (most likely, I wasn't thinking at all). On that note, I'd like to offer up _Misplaced Fox_ for adoption. I'm afraid that any other attempts I make at rewriting it will end the same way as this fic. If anyone is interested, please contact me first._

_I owe this chapter to the UNF's super sweet (and super cute) IT guy, who fixed my laptop this morning. Without him, we'd be waiting another week or more for this chapter._

**Chapter Six: Flirting with Disaster **

Kurama woke to the sound of voices in the kitchen. Cracking an eyelid, he realized that the sun was already up and a quick glance at the bedside table revealed that is was quickly approaching nine o'clock. A book skittered to the floor as Kurama stood slowly and stretched the kinks out of his back and neck. "Crap," he muttered under his breath. He'd meant to wait up for Bobby's return, but clearly he'd fallen asleep reading again.

'_Are the Winchesters back,' _Youko asked.

Kurama concentrated on the voices downstairs, but couldn't make out much. _'I can't tell. We're still breathing; that's always a good sign.'_

Youko snorted, _'As if a pair of measly ningens would ever get the better of me.'_

'_Careful, Youko,' _Kurama warned. _'Your pride is what brought us together in the first place.'_

Youko didn't take the bait and remained silent as Kurama prepared to face the day. Kurama dug through the dresser and laid out clean boxers, a black button down shirt, and a pair of blue jeans on the bed. He'd taken a trip with Bobby to the local Wal-Mart on the first day after his arrival. Thanks to the hunter's generosity, Kurama had a few changes of clothes and basic toiletries. He showered quickly and redressed. Standing front of the mirror, he fixed his long, wet hair as best he could.

Kurama performed one final inspection in the mirror before exiting the room. The jeans fit snugly around his waist and hugged his toned thighs. His scarlet locks were secured with a tie at the nape of his neck. He left the first three buttons of the collared black shirt undone leaving a few inches of toned chest exposed. A silver pendant hung just below Kurama's throat. It was a silver dragon with tiny red gems for eyes. The dragon was coiled protectively around a round black stone.

'_Some things never change,'_ Youko mused. _'You are so vain, Kit.'_

'_You're a fine one to talk,' _Kurama retorted.

Youko snorted, _'Hiei will kill you if he ever finds out you have that.'_

Kurama sighed dejectedly, _'I know. I should never have taken the damned thing.'_

Kurama had found the tear gem during the Dark Tournament. It was lying inconspicuously under his bed the night after Kurama's fight with Kurasu. Kurama couldn't remember much from that night; his injuries had been too severe. The gem suggested that Hiei had watched over him that night. Of course, one could also argue that the tear was a result of Hiei's own injuries. But if that was the case, why was the gem in Kurama's bed?

Kurama sighed, _'We won't find out anything sulking around here. The sooner we get home, the sooner we can get some answers.'_

'_Agreed,'_ Youko answered._ 'Perhaps one of Bobby's visitors is the infamous Castiel.' _

Bobby was sitting in the kitchen nursing his third cup of coffee when Kurama padded down the stairs. He looked up at his guests and shot one final warning, "That'd be him. Try not to scare him off just yet. If he isn't human, then we're still going to need some answers."

Shizuru shrugged nonchalantly and the twins simply glared. "We'll see," Hiei answered.

Kurama strolled into the kitchen and froze as he saw Bobby's guests. For a few moments, Kurama allowed himself to believe that Hiei had moved Heaven and Earth to find his fox, but Kurama's hopes were quickly dashed. The differences between the Hiei at Bobby's table and the Hiei Kurama knew and loved were quickly apparent. Bobby's visitors were high B-class yokai. It was too high for Yukina, but also too low for Hiei. Like Kurama, Hiei was a low S-class yokai. This new Hiei had a ward on his forehead suggesting the existence of a Jagan eye, but his arms were bare. Most likely, this Hiei had never mastered the Dragon of the Darkness Flame.

All of these thoughts passed through Kurama's mind in seconds as he made his way towards the stove. "Would anyone like breakfast?" Kurama asked, attempting to appear indifferent to Bobby's guests.

"Cut the crap, Boy," Bobby replied. "Show our guests that picture you keep in your wallet. These folks work for Lord Koenma and they just might be able to help you."

Steeling himself mentally, Kurama turned back to his teammates' doppelgangers. Shizuru was staring at him with a cool indifference. Kurama was surprised to find that her spirit power was much higher in this world. If Kurama had to guess she possessed about as much power as Yusuke before Genkai had passed her power onto him. Yukina was openly staring at Kurama like he was some sort of delectable desert. He was used to these sorts of looks at the university, but coming from Yukina it was more than a little bit creepy. Hiei looked from Kurama to Yukina and back to Kurama and growled, "My sister is off limits, Boy."

Kurama stifled a laugh. For one, it was certainly the last thought on his mind. Kissing Yukina would be like kissing his sister. Not that Kurama had a sister, maybe someday…

'_Kit, the picture,'_ Youko prompted, snapping Kurama out of his reverie.

"I promise, I have no intentions of courting your sister," Kurama answered and fumbled through his wallet. Yukina growled. "Not that there's anything wrong with your sister. You are as radiant as the sun, My Lady," he amended.

"Can it, Kid. Nobody likes a kiss ass," Shizuru replied and snagged the photo from Kurama's hand. "Damn," she muttered a few minutes later. "You really were telling the truth?"

Kurama nodded, "I came here from another reality. It's similar to this one, but clearly there are some differences."

"My brother, Kazuma, and his friend Yusuke," Shizuru pointed to the two boys in the photo, "got into trouble with a yakuza gang a few years back. The gang was expanding territory and putting down roots in our town. The fool, Yusuke, tried to stop him."

Kurama nodded, "It sounds like something Yusuke would do."

Shizuru sighed, "Yeah well, my idiot brother joined him. Something about loyalty and saving little girls and kittens. I tried to stop him; Yusuke'd always been nothing but a worthless punk. Kazuma wouldn't listen."

A sad small played across Kurama's lips, "Also, very much like our Kazuma. What happened? I got part of the story from Atsuko, but parts of her explanation were incoherent."

"Yakuza pinned them down in a ramen shop. Kazuma and Yusuke's girlfriend, Keiko, died in the shoot out. Yusuke died three days while enacting his revenge. He managed to take out the Yakuza's leader before he was gunned down. The gang left after that. Keiko's family closed shop and left town. I think Atsuko and I would have done the same if we'd had the money. About a year later I began working for Koenma and met the twins."

Deciding to ease some of the tension following Shizuru's story, Yukina piped up, "Did someone mention breakfast?"

Kurama moved to the refrigerator and began pulling out supplies. He had just begun working on breakfast when Hiei cleared his throat. "There's one thing that still bothers me about this picture. I can identify everyone here…except you. Just how do you fit in?"

Fortunately, Kurama was prepared for this question. "I had gained a _reputation_ for being able to procure rare and often dangerous items."

Kurama slipped Shizuru's wallet out of his own pocket and leafed through the contents until he found her ID. "Let's see…Shizuru Kuwabara, age 25, height 174 cm, weight—"

"Hey!" Shizuru yelled and made a futile reach for her wallet.

Kurama deftly danced out of Shizuru's reach and commented, "This really isn't a very flattering picture of you, by the way."

Shizuru stood so that she could take full advantage of her superior height. She punched Kurama hard on his right bicep temporarily stunning the fox. She used the moment of confusion to steal her wallet back.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Botan paced nervously in front of a quaint single story home on the Yokosuka naval base. Beside her, Hiei stared at the ferry girl with intense irritation and Yusuke looked expectant.

"Well, it seems normal enough," the former spirit detective commented.

Botan nodded absently and continued her inspection of the house. Not much had changed since her last visit. Sure the garden was new and the house had recently received a fresh coat of paint, but that wasn't what gave her pause. From her position on the opposite side of the street she could clearly read the name "Winchester" painted on the mailbox. Botan glanced at the slip of paper Koenma had given her to verify the address, a definite match.

"You guys coming in or are you going to stare all night?" a woman called in heavily accented Japanese.

Botan grinned like an idiot and grabbed Yusuke's shoulder. She rushed to the front door to meet her old friend, dragging Yusuke behind her. "Pam! How are you? It's been too long."

Botan unceremoniously dropped Yusuke off in front of the porch and rushed to embrace her old friend. Pamela Barnes had been working for Koenma on and off for years. The woman steadfastly refused to join one of Koenma's Spirit Detective teams, but still provided valuable assistance when needed. Botan had always assumed that she and Koenma had some sort of payment system worked out, but the ferry girl knew better than to ask.

The two women separated and Pam took a moment to study Botan's companions. Her eyes wandered appreciatively over Yusuke and finally settled on Hiei's ass. "Koenma's new Spirit Detectives?"

"Bingo!" Botan replied enthusiastically. "Allow me to introduce Yusuke Urameshi and Hiei. Boys, meet Ms. Pamela Barnes."

"_Former_ Spirit Detective," Yusuke corrected. Botan shrugged as if she didn't recognize the difference.

Pam couldn't help but smile as she watched Hiei and Yusuke stare down Botan. She cleared her throat to get the trio's attention. Ushering them in the door, Pam corrected Botan, "Actually Botan, it's Winchester now. My husband is currently on deployment, which is probably a good thing. I haven't told him about my work for Koenma. Dean knows I work as a psychic, but he just thinks that means I read palms and tarot cards for tourists."

The boys followed Botan into the house and Pam whistled suggestively as Hiei glided past her. The fire demon was looking increasingly uncomfortable as Pam led them to the dining room. Botan and Yusuke selected chairs at the dining room table while Hiei stood near the entrance with his back (and ass) resting against the wall. Pam continued into the kitchen to fix a pot of tea.

The girls exchanged gossip until they had finished the tea. Yusuke attempted to remain quiet and polite for once. A sure result of Keiko's "training" but it was becoming increasingly clear from his body language that he was bored. Pam had offered a cup of tea to Hiei as well, but he was pointedly ignoring it.

With a sigh Pam returned the empty tea cups to the sink and rejoined her guests. Addressing Hiei, she stated, "Koenma already told me the basics, but I want to hear it from you."

Hiei shrugged, "Hn. Kurama was walking in front of me and then he disappeared."

Pam glared at Hiei, "Do you think you could be a little more vague?"

"There's nothing more to tell, Pam," Botan assured her. "Koenma has exhausted all of his resources and we're still no closer to finding out what happened to him now then when we started."

Pam looked skeptically at Hiei, "Well, I know a few scrying spells that _might_ work, but I'll need something personal of his."

Hiei pushed away from the wall and removed a small item from the confines of his cloak. As he laid it out on the table, the psychic couldn't help but laugh. "A rose? Is this some sort of lover's token?"

Yusuke stared at the perfectly preserved dried rose and joined in on her laughter. "You've got to admit, Hiei. She has a point."

Hiei's hand moved stealthily towards his katana and Botan gave him a pleading look. "Please Hiei, no maiming the stupid. Remember the conditions of your parole."

"Some people are only alive because it's illegal to kill them," Hiei growled and moved back a few paces.

Botan returned her attention to Pam, "You have to understand. In Kurama's hands, a rose is a very dangerous weapon."

"If you say so," Pam said and removed a set of keys from her pocket. "We're going to need pull a few things from storage."

Pam led the trio into the garage and started pointing out boxes to the boys. Yusuke grabbed the majority of the boxes and tossed the last one to Hiei. Hiei caught it easily and headed towards the living room. As he passed Pam, Hiei jumped and let out a quiet yelp.

Botan and Yusuke worked to set up a folding table and chairs in the living room. Meanwhile, Hiei stood quietly by the door and stared at Pam, who was drawing circles and runes on a tablecloth. After a few minutes of sketching, Pam consulted a dusty leather-bound book and swept up the tablecloth. She draped it over the table with a satisfied smile and selected a chair.

Botan, Yusuke, and Hiei joined her at the table. "What's next," Yusuke asked grinning. "Do we join hands and you call out to the spirits while Hiei spews ectoplasm?"

"Yusuke!" Botan admonished. "My apologies, Pam. Yusuke watches way too much television."

Pam laughed, "It's okay Botan, I'm used to people not understanding what it is I do. We're going to start with a simple scrying spell. I'm going to need your rose Hiei."

"Ningen, what the hell are you doing?"Hiei shouted and bolted from his chair.

"I need you to place the rose in the center of the table," Pam replied calmly and evenly.

"Remove your hand or I will remove it, _permanently_," Hiei growled.

Yusuke glanced under the table and began laughing hysterically, Botan joined in a second later.

Hiei turned an alarming shade of red. "Shut up. Ningen, I will not tolerate this behavior."

The room turns deathly silent for a few seconds, and then Yusuke burst into laughing fits again. "I get it," Yusuke gasped, "it's because he's always with Kurama. He's not used to this sort of attention."

"Is that all you have to say? They're last words you know?" Hiei growled and launched himself at Yusuke. Botan raised her voice in protest, but before Hiei could kill or maim the idiot both boys were sopping wet.

"How about we all try being civil around here?" Pam asked in a saccharine tone. The psychic was holding a now empty water pitcher in one hand.

Yusuke blushed and released Hiei's collar. "Yes Ma'am," he replied and lowered his head. Meanwhile, Hiei simply grunted and continued to glare daggers at the rest of the group.

Pam was wearing a bemused smile. "Now, can we continue with the spell already?" she asked innocently.

"Hiei, why don't you trade seats with me," Botan suggested. Hiei traded seats without taking his eyes off Pam. "I thought you were married now," Botan asked Pam.

"Married not dead," Pam laughed. "The shrimp's way too much fun to mess with, but honestly I would never cheat on Dean. Not only do I love him, his brother's one of the best divorce lawyers in California. Alright Hiei, I'll keep my hands to myself. Now, let's try this again."

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_I intended to include a lot more in this chapter, but I soon realized that it would make this chapter much, much longer. In the interest of a timely update, I've cut this one a little shorter than originally intended. I have finals on Friday; it was post now "as is" or post sometime next week._

_For every paragraph you see here, there's two or three more that I deleted. I had difficulties writing alternate versions of these beloved characters. You want/need them to be different, but at the same time you don't want them to be completely out of character._

_As always, I would love your feedback (positive or negative). Please review._


	7. Game Over

_I usually prefer to address reviewers privately, but I feel Serenity Moon2 brought up a good point. I remind you that in the previous chapter Shizuru got the drop on our hapless fox. This is only because Kurama let it happen to maintain his cover. I will go back and clarify that. Thank you, Serenity._

_I think my next project will be a crossover for Yu Yu Hakusho and Eureka. Would anyone be interested in seeing that?_

**Chapter Seven: Game Over**

Bobby, Kurama, and Shizuru watched the twins spar from the comfort and (relative) safety of Bobby's front porch. Koenma had convinced the twins that airport security would confiscate their beloved katanas, therefore the twins were using a pair of machetes borrowed from Bobby's collection. The unfamiliar weapons made the twins' movement a little less graceful than Kurama would have expected, but no less deadly. Try as he might, Kurama couldn't stop watching the pair.

"Hiei's not going to take too kindly to you ogling his sister," Bobby remarked, but Kurama didn't hear him.

Noticing Kurama's inattention, Shizuru smirked, "I don't think Yukina is the problem."

Bobby looked at the young woman incredulously. "Just what do you mean?"

"Come on, we both saw that photo. Under normal circumstances Hiei would kill anyone who dared to touch him. Besides, his eyes are following Hiei's movements, not Yukina's," Shizuru replied.

"You can follow all that?" Bobby asked motioning towards the twins. Both were moving faster than an ordinary human could track.

"I wouldn't make much of a Spirit Detective if I couldn't. The question is, how can he?" Shizuru asked motioning towards Kurama.

The twins' duel ended rather abruptly when Hiei's machete shattered. Hiei raised his arms in defeat as Yukina's blade stopped inches from his throat. The ice maiden laughed softly and moved to find Hiei's broken weapon. The fire demon looked to the porch to find Shizuru, but found Kurama staring instead.

One moment Hiei was standing next to Yukina and the next moment he was behind Kurama on the porch. "I don't know what your game is _ningen_, but I think I made myself clear," Hiei spat.

Kurama smiled deviously, which only set Hiei off again. "You will stay away from my sister or I will remove that pretty little head of yours."

Kurama shrugged and hopped over the railing. He ran towards Yukina and called back, "You're assuming that you can catch me."

Flames literally formed around Hiei's body as the demon let out an incomprehensible scream. Hiei ran into the house and inspected the weapons littering every wall and horizontal surface of Bobby's house. Finding an old katana half buried under a stack of newspapers, Hiei charged back outside in search of Kurama.

Hiei didn't need to look far. Kurama was still in the front yard and appeared to be flirting with Yukina. Shizuru and Bobby were watching in rapt fascination from the edge of the porch as Hiei sprinted towards the couple.

"That idjit must have some sort of death wish," Bobby remarked still stunned by Kurama's performance.

"It was nice knowing the kid," Shizuru commented as she took a long drag from her cigarette. "Hiei! Remember, Koenma _will_ kill you if you kill that boy. Even if he is a moron!"

Kurama motioned towards Yukina's machete. "Could I borrow that?" he asked politely.

Yukina carefully passed the machete to the charming young man. Kurama quickly tested the weight and brought the weapon back up just in time to block a blow from Hiei's katana. Hiei was momentarily stunned, but stayed on the offensive. Kurama deftly blocked each attack but lost ground each time. With each parry Hiei's next blow came faster and Kurama inched closer and closer to the woods at the edge of Bobby's property.

Back on the porch, Shizuru turned to Bobby. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Bobby shook his head. "I haven't been able to see anything for a while now."

Since Kurama's speed had been increasing gradually, Hiei had yet to notice just how fast Kurama's blocks were. Both fighters were already moving at superhuman speeds and only one of the fighters was even really trying. Kurama's back hit a large maple tree and the fox smiled. "You're on my turf now," he taunted. Kurama went on the offensive for the first time. He caught Hiei off guard as he lunged forward. Taking advantage of the ephemeral distraction, Kurama raced deeper into the woods.

Hiei gave chase, but the fox was illusive. Kurama changed directions quickly and often used the obstacles provided by the terrain. Hiei cursed colorfully as he stumbled out of a patch of brambles and into the clearing where Kurama was waiting for him.

"About time you got here, Hiei," Kurama taunted.

Hiei roared and moved towards Kurama only to fall flat on his face. "What the hell?" Hiei felt a sharp pain in his left ankle. Looking back, he found the blackberry brambles had latched around his ankle. The fire demon quickly hacked away at them with his katana, but for every bramble he dislodged two more returned to take its place. Hiei was being pulled slowly but steadily back into the woods.

"Are you ready to listen?" Kurama asked smugly.

Hiei's sharp gaze found Kurama sitting peacefully in the center of the clearing. The fox was sitting cross legged with his machete lying on his lap. Another vine snaked around Hiei's prone form and ripped the katana from Hiei's hands.

Disarmed, Hiei's temper snapped. He raised his chi, setting the brambles and much of the surrounding vegetation aflame. He snatched the katana from a still smoldering patch of leaves and turned to Kurama. "Who are you?"

Kurama had discarded the machete and drawn one of his signature rose seeds from his mane. He waited until he was sure Hiei was watching and transformed the seed into a rose.

"So you're a yokai after all," Hiei smirked. "Good, now I don't have to worry about _accidentally_ killing you."

Kurama smiled back and dropped some of his shields to give Hiei a taste of his true power. "Rose whip," Kurama said calmly.

Hiei's eyes widened but he was never one to back down from a fight. The smaller demon charged, but Kurama never let him get close enough to strike. Away from Shizuru and Bobby's prying eyes, Kurama went on the offensive. He lashed out with his rose whip constantly keeping Hiei a safe distance away and leaving a trail of small cuts and abrasions.

"I will have your head," Hiei growled.

"I don't see how," Kurama teased. The fox shredded Hiei's shirt with a flick of his wrist. "Yumm," Kurama remarked suggestively.

Hiei flushed and returned to the fight with increased vigor. Kurama sighed heavily and finally let the fire demon in close. Hiei let out a triumphant cry as his sword plunged towards Kurama's chest, but Kurama sidestepped at the last second. The fox struck Hiei at the base of the skull knocking him unconscious.

Kurama sighed heavily and returned the rose seed to his hair. He took a moment to check Hiei's wounds before gathering the demon in his arms and heading back towards the house. He chose to leave the katana in the clearing in case Hiei were to wake up before they could return. Someone could always fetch it later.

Back on the porch, Shizuru waited anxiously. She didn't want to see one of her teammates locked up or imprisoned because of some stupid kid. Surely Koenma would understand that Hiei had been baited. Shizuru moaned, Koenma would understand, but it wouldn't matter. King Enma's orders regarding Hiei were quite clear. One screw up and the fire demon fries. "I need to stop them. Koenma will have both our asses if I don't," she called back to Bobby.

"I'll get the first aid kit," Bobby answered grimly. "I thought the kid had more sense than this."

Shizuru trotted down the porch steps and came to an abrupt stop. In the distance, flocks of birds rapidly vacated the surrounding woods. "Shit," the young woman hissed.

Bobby darted into the kitchen for a shotgun and rejoined Shizuru on the porch. "What's going on?" the hunter asked.

"Yukina, get up here!" Shizuru called across the yard. "There's another yokai out there; its spirit energy is through the roof. High A Class or possibly S Class."

"The twins?" Bobby asked quietly as Yukina joined them on the porch.

Shizuru looked nervously at Yukina as she answered. "High B Class. Honestly, I'm not sure Hiei has a chance."

Just as Shizuru finished her statement, Hiei's chi faded. "Brother," Yukina whispered forlornly.

Shizuru stiffened as she realized that the other yokai was headed directly towards them. "Yukina, Bobby, I need you to buy me some time. Our best bet is for me to use the Spirit Wave, but I'll need time to prepare."

Yukina and Bobby nodded grimly. Yukina inspected her machete and Bobby went back inside for extra ammo while Shizuru watched the treeline. "Guys! It's coming!" Shizuru yelled.

Shizuru stayed on the porch and Bobby and Yukina took up defensive positions in the yard. Yukina stayed in the open closest to the woods, determined to take revenge for her brother. Bobby crouched behind an old Volkswagen where he could easily defend Shizuru or Yukina's positions.

To the three fighters, it seemed like an eternity before Kurama stepped out of the woods carrying Hiei's limp form. Bobby's lips tightened as he saw the cuts marring Hiei's small form. By contrast, Kurama seemed unscathed.

"Brother!" Yukina yelled as she caught sight of Kurama.

"Stay back, Yukina! It's him! Kurama's the yokai!" Shizuru yelled. She'd felt Kurama's energy when he'd lowered his shields earlier. The Spirit Detective was no longer fooled by Kurama's mild mannered exterior.

Yukina's hand tightened around the machete as her eyes lifted from her brother to Kurama. The young man seemed different. The boys walk was more confident and determined; he didn't even pause at the sight of Yukina or Bobby's weapons. His eyes gave Yukina pause, green flecked with gold; they seemed colder than she remembered.

Kurama's eyes never left Yukina's as he gently lowered Hiei to the ground behind an old Cutlass Sierra. The fox continued to advance slowly towards the awaiting fighters.

The crack of Bobby's rifle broke the standoff as a bullet pounded into the ground before Kurama's feet. Kurama stopped and raised his hands. "I don't want to fight," he called out.

"We gave you plenty of opportunities to tell the truth," Bobby answered.

Kurama smiled, and produced a rose. He held it out like he was about to give it to Yukina. The ice maiden growled, "I'll kill you for what you did to my brother."

Before Kurama could answer, Bobby's rifle barked again. Kurama moved with superhuman grace and speed. As a result, the bullet just grazed his left arm. Kurama hissed and dropped the rose. "Petals and Thorns!" he shouted.

The rose burst apart before it could hit the ground. The petals moved with sadistic purpose towards Bobby. The hunter's gun fired again, but this time the shot was wild, hitting an old Buick five feet to Kurama's left. The hunter swore as the petals left dozens of shallow cuts. Kurama moved quickly to Bobby's side and snatched the shotgun. Bobby growled, but he was in no position to stop the old fox. Kurama unloaded the rifle and tossed it as far as he could before advancing towards Yukina.

Yukina watched her quarry carefully as he approached. Her sword was steady and only her eyes portrayed her fear. "Who are you?" she barked.

"Lower the sword Yukina. I don't want to fight you. Your brother is fine. Please, go check," Kurama replied in a placating tone.

Yukina's eyes flickered subconsciously to her brother. She could just barely see him out of the corner of her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as she noticed the steady rise and fall of his chest.

"All the wounds are superficial," Kurama assured. "He should wake up at any time."

Yukina glanced back to Kurama. The warmth had returned to his eyes and there was a small smile on his lips. The ice maiden nodded and slowly lowered the machete.

"Yukina move!" Bobby yelled.

Yukina's eyes widened as she felt a power build up behind her. With speed rivaling Hiei's, Yukina dodged right. "Spirit Wave!" Shizuru yelled.

By the time Kurama saw the attack, it was too late to dodge.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

The sudden power release startled Hiei awake. The first thing he noticed was that his head felt like it'd been used for soccer practice. The next thing he noticed was that his sword was missing.

'_Someone will pay,'_ the fire demon vowed. He stood up slowly fighting off a bout of nausea.

"Brother!" Yukina yelled happily. The ice maiden stopped abruptly in front of her brother and began checking his wounds. She was happy to note that most of the cuts were already beginning to heal. "Are you alright, Brother?"

"Fine, just my head," Hiei grumbled while rubbing a sore spot on the back of his head. Yukina moved to heal the wound, but Hiei stopped her. "Leave it. It's my fault."

"Well that certainly wasn't what I was expecting," Bobby commented. "Looks like Crowley had it right after all."

Yukina and Hiei joined the others who were currently standing over a silver fox the size of a German shepherd. Hiei counted the tails twice thinking his first count was in error. _'Six,' _he confirmed.

"Have you two ever seen a kitsune before?" Shizuru asked the twins.

Hiei thought for a moment before answering. "I don't think so. Why?"

Shizuru shook her head, "I can't help thinking of a story Koenma once told me. It was right after I started working as a Spirit Detective. Atsuko and I took him to a bar and got him shitfaced. I remember Atsuko crying over how she wasn't a good enough mother and—"

"Is there a point in this story somewhere," Hiei asked caustically.

Shizuru glared, "After a few beers, Koenma finally opened up about his mother. King Enma caught her in bed with a thief. He had his wife executed, but the thief slipped away. The thief was a powerful kitsune and King Enma's spies tore the Makai apart hunting down any and every fox they could find. It took close to fifty years, but Enma finally cornered Youko Kurama in the last kitsune village. Youko turned himself in on the condition that the rest would be spared."

"So this is one of the survivors?" Yukina asked.

Shizuru shook her head, "Enma held a very public execution for Youko and then slaughtered the rest of the village."

"So Crowley performed a summoning spell for a kitsune, but there are no kitsunes," Bobby said thoughtfully.

"So it snagged Kurama out of a parallel dimension," Shizuru finished sounding a little skeptical.

Bobby shrugged, "I don't have any better ideas, do you? What did you hit him with anyways? That was an S Class yokai."

Shizuru smirked, "A trick I learned from Genkai, the Spirit Wave. No evil yokai can survive it."

"Then why is this one still breathing?" Hiei asked.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_I wanted Kurama's secret out in the open and I couldn't resist writing a fight scene between Hiei and Kurama. Remember, this Hiei is much weaker than the one from Kurama's universe._

_Reviews are always appreciated._


	8. Back by Popular Demand

_This chapter took me forever to write. For that, I apologize. _

_Okay, let me just say that the Season 7 premiere rocked!_

**Chapter Seven: Back by Popular Demand**

"Gypsies?" Dean asked.

Sam was balancing his computer in his lap in the passenger seat of the Impala. "Nope," he answered without even glancing up.

"Cursed artifact, shapeshifter, Indian burial ground…"

"I can't find any records of a museum or even a private collector in town. I suppose shapeshifter is a possibility, but so far there have been no bodies. And why would knights be haunting an _Indian_ burial ground?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "Why would knights haunt North America? Maybe a theatre troupe was murdered here."

Sam's face brightened as he returned to the search engine. After a few minutes, his smile faded. "There have been a few deceased actors, but none died violently and there certainly haven't been that many."

Dean was becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of viable results. "So what do we know?"

Sam closed his laptop and stretched. "Well, the locals have reported seeing mounted knights at night down near the cemetery."

"And we're sure that there aren't any knights buried at the cemetery?"

"Yes, Dean," Sam said in an irritated tone. "The reports vary. Some have reported only one knight and others have reported as many as six. They all report to have seen one rider that is extremely large."

"How big?" Dean asked. "Maybe it's the high school football team playing a practical joke."

Sam shook his head, "Over ten feet. A few of the locals have gone missing, but there haven't been any bodies yet." Sam shuffled through a stack of papers before finding a group of photos. "Ms. Jennifer Day, local math teacher, went missing on Tuesday and reappeared two days later. She claimed to be finding an exact value for pi. Miss 'Honey' Daniels, stripper, supposedly disappeared for five days, although no one reported her missing. Apparently, she built a moat around the cemetery with her bare hand—"

"Okay, okay really freaky shit, but no fatalities," Dean summarized quickly while straightening his tie. "Let's go talk to the yokels."

Dean stepped out of the Impala and motioned towards the Moody County Sheriff's Office. Sam sighed heavily realizing once again that his hard work would go unappreciated. Sam carefully placed his laptop under the front seat and had to jog to catch up with Dean.

The brothers entered the sheriff's office together and immediately wished they hadn't. A pungent odor seemed to permeate every surface in the building. Sam literally gagged and Dean turned to the receptionist and glared. "What the_ hell_ died in here?" Dean demanded.

The receptionist was a squat woman in her fifties. She had long, pink plastic nails and red hair that could only have come from a bottle. Her body language and expressions made it clear that she wished to be _anywhere_ else at the moment as she returned Dean's glare with one of her own. "And what can I do for you two gentleman?" she asked snidely.

Sam quickly realized that Dean was still locked in a staring contest with the receptionist and chose to take the lead. "Good morning Miss," Sam glanced around briefly for a name tag, "Dolores. I'm Special Agent Hamilton, FBI. Please forgive my partner; Agent Tyler is fresh from Quantico."

Sam put on his best fake smile as the receptionist refocused her attention on him. "Rookies," Dolores shared a knowing smile with Sam. "I feel your pain." She discretely motioned towards a young man in uniform fighting with the copying machine. "What can I do for you _Special_ Agent Hamilton."

Sam pulled on his collar feeling uncomfortable under Dolores's lustful gaze. "We're here to speak with Sheriff Barker about the recent disappearances."

"Your timing couldn't be better, Sugar. Mr. Bradley stumbled in about three hours ago. Sheriff's in the back with him now," Dolores said while pointing to an office in the back.

"Thank you, Ma'am," Sam replied and strode towards the office.

Sam quickly realized that the smell got worse the further into the office you walked. When he reached the door to the sheriff's small private office, Sam turned to find his brother. Sam was surprised to find Dean at the front desk talking to Dolores. Dean gave Sam a big shit-eater grin and trotted across the office to join him.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked pointing towards Dolores.

Dean was still grinning broadly. "I'll tell you later. God! What died in here?"

"I have a feeling that we're about to find out," Sam replied as he knocked on the office door.

There was a muffled response from someone, presumably the sheriff, inside and Dean marched in followed by Sam half a step behind.

The office was small and spartan. Sheriff Barker was a trim, lean man in his mid-forties. He stood as the two brothers entered and a single eyebrow lifted towards his receding hairline. "What can we do for you two gentlemen?"

Dean removed a badge and flashed it in a smooth practiced manner. "Special Agent Tyler, Sheriff. This is my partner Agent Hamilton. We're here investigating the kidnappings. Your secretary mentioned that one of the victims returned this morning?" Dean asked motioning to the office's second occupant.

An overweight balding man with several days' worth of stubble stood and offered Dean his hand. "Isaac Bradley," he said offering his hand. Dean wrinkled his nose and took an involuntary step back almost colliding with his brother. Clearly this was the source of the stench permeating the office. Isaac lowered his hand and apologized. "Sorry, habit."

"Why don't you tell these two boys what you saw? You guys can use my office; I'm going to step out for some fresh air," Sheriff Barker. Isaac smiled meekly and watched as the sheriff quickly made his way to the nearest exit.

"Alright Mr. Bradley, why don't we get started," Sam began. "Tell us everything, including the parts you don't think we'll believe."

Isaac eyed the brothers skeptically for a moment then nodded and began his tale. "I'm retired. I spend most Monday nights down at Lacy's Pub watching the football game. So last Monday, I'm heading home around 11:30 and these guys on horses jump me just outside the Oakview Cemetery. Now I know what you're already thinking. I had a few beers, but I wasn't drunk!" he barked angrily.

Sam smiled sympathetically. Mr. Bradley had probably already had this discussion with the sheriff and anyone else who would listen. "It's alright Mr. Bradley, no one here is judging you. Just tell us what you saw."

"They were knights, armor and everything. I saw five of them; I'm not sure if there were any more—"

"Were the knights corporeal? Did they seem translucent or hazy?" Dean asked.

Isaac's eyes widened, "You're asking if they're ghosts? Who are you guys, Mulder and Scully? No, they were real. I have a bruise across my ribs wear one of them kicked me."

"May I?" Sam asked and leaned in closer as the older man rolled up his shirt. A dark purple bruise approximately the size of his hand marred Isaac's right side just below his sternum. Sam winced as he looked away.

Isaac looked thoughtful as he readjusted his shirt. "There was something strange about them though. Their leader was tall, taller than any man I'd ever met. And their horses never made a sound, not even footsteps."

Sam nodded and took a few notes, but most of what he was hearing agreed with the other reports. "And the three days that you were missing? Where did they take you? What did they want from you?"

"I don't remember much from the night they took me. I remember something ran out in front of my pickup. I pulled over to see if I hit anything. I remember getting out and checking the road, but after that it's all a blur. Whoever they were, they must have knocked me out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the woods."

Dean nodded. It made sense the man was probably drunk; it wouldn't have been too difficult to get the drop on him.

"Why did the knights drag you into the woods?" Sam asked.

Isaac leaned forward in his chair and the brothers copied his movement. He spoke in a voice just above a whisper as though he was about to impart some great secret. "They gave me this fish," the older man spread his hands about eighteen inches apart, attempting to indicate size. "They pointed me towards a large oak tree and ordered me to cut it down."

Sam looked thoroughly confused. "With the _fish_?"

Isaac nodded solemnly and Dean grabbed Sam's shoulder. "Thank you Mr. Bradley, we have all the information we need here."

"We do?" Sam said looking surprised.

"We do," Dean confirmed. "Mr. Bradley, thank you for your help. We'll be in touch."

Dean exited and motioned for Sam to follow. Sam stopped long enough to pass Isaac a business card before following. "What was that about?" Sam hissed as he pulled the office door closed.

Dean was grinning from ear to ear. "He chopped down the largest tree in the forest with a herring."

"I don't remember him mentioning the type of fish," Sam began flipping through his notes.

"Dude! It's Monty Python! I swear it's like I don't even know you sometimes," Dean chuckled.

Sam still looked confused, "So that would mean—"

"Balthazar," they finished together and both brothers groaned.

The young deputy who'd been fighting with the copier earlier approached the two brothers as they moved away from the office. "Sheriff Barker asked me to see you gentlemen safely to your car."

"Guess we've over stayed our welcome. Oh well, we've got we came for, right Sammy? Oh, I almost forgot. I brought you a present," Dean passed Sam a folded slip of paper.

"What?" Sam asked.

"It's Dolores's phone number," Dean replied and wiggled his eyebrows. "She wanted to make extra sure that you got it."

Sam groaned, "Thanks a lot Dean."

The deputy followed them out and the brothers got halfway to the Impala before demons started approaching from every direction. "Ah, crap," Dean muttered and turned back towards the deputy. "We can take it from here Deputy. Why don't you head back inside?"

The deputy's eyes turned jet black. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm sure Crowley will reward me handsomely for bringing him you two."

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Youko came awake with a start. He opened his eyes slowly, but quickly shut them again. Sunlight hurt. Everything hurt in fact, moving, breathing, noise…

'_Kit, what happened?'_ Youko asked silently.

'_I'm not sure, but I think Shizuru nailed us with a Spirit Wave attack,'_ Kurama replied thoughtfully.

'_I suppose we should be thankful that it was Shizuru and not Genki or Yusuke,' _Youko remarked. The old fox whimpered a little as he regained his feet, all four of them.

"He's up!" Yukina called out. Youko winced as her voice made his head feel even worse.

Hiei rushed forward to meet his sister while Bobby and Shizuru followed at a more leisurely pace. Youko gathered his strength and leveled his golden stare at the young human woman.

'_You've made a grave error Ningen,'_ Youko projected his mental voice so that the entire group could hear. _'You'll find that I'm not as _polite_ as Kurama.'_

Hiei and Yukina backed up a bit; they could practically taste the old kitsune's power in the air. "And just who are you anyhow?" Shizuru asked cockily.

'_I am Youko Kurama, the greatest thief in three worlds, and I will be the end of you if you do not learn proper respect,' _Youko replied and simultaneously raised his demon energy.

The twins were looking more and more uncomfortable by the minute, but Shizuru stood her ground. Meanwhile, Bobby leveled a shot gun at Youko's chest.

Yukina moved closely to Bobby and whispered, "Put it down. With the kind of power he's exuding you're just going to piss him off."

Youko wasn't meant to hear the exchange, but his sensitive ears picked it up anyhow. _'You should listen to the little girl, Ningen.'_ He glared menacingly at Shizuru. _'And don't think that the same trick will work twice.'_

Shizuru looked ready to parry with some witty remark when a figure literally appeared out of nowhere.

"You?" Bobby exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yeah, yeah," the newcomer replied. "There'll be time for reunions later. The Winchesters are in trouble." He turned around and seemed to notice Youko for the first time. "Well, well, this could be interesting."

Youko inhaled deeply and tried to get a sense of who are what this newcomer was. He searched his long and impressive memory but still came up empty.

'_Angels?' _Kurama asked silently.

Youko watched the others' reaction to the stranger. Shizuru was doing her best to look unimpressed, but Youko knew she had to be able to feel some of the power pouring off the man. Hiei and Yukina looked just as confused as him. Youko decided to venture a guess, _'Castiel?'_

Bobby looked extremely nervous as the other man began snickering, "No, I'm Cas's big brother."

"Gabriel," Bobby muttered under his breath.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_Sioux Falls is in Minnehaha County, SD. Moody County really is one of the adjacent counties. Flandreau is the county seat population is approximately 2,350._

_I do not own Supernatural, Yu Yu Hakusho, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail._

_It has been my goal for some time now to hit over 100 reviews in a single story. If you would like to help, I'd be mighty grateful._


	9. Timmy's in the Well

_Last chapter, one reviewer asked me why I complicated the story by throwing Kurama into another dimension. Strangely, at the time I couldn't remember why I did that, but I remember now. If Kurama had stayed in the same dimension, Koenma would have found him and Botan would have simply opened a portal to bring him home._

_For Lerabird, who beta'd this chapter (sort of)._

**Chapter Nine: Timmy's in the Well**

Youko refused to back down. He eyed the "angel" while standing ramrod straight and his hackles rose. Hiei seemed to take his cue from Youko because a moment later the fire demon took up a defensive position.

"Children, children, can we quit with the posturing already?" Gabriel asked innocently enough.

"What hole did you crawl out from under?" Bobby growled. "I thought Lucifer shanked your hairy ass."

Gabriel pretended to appear offended. "Apparently Castiel isn't the only one back in _Father's_ good graces. I remember Lucifer's little parting gift and then nothing. I woke up a few months later in a church outside of Jersey. At first, I thought I'd landed in Hell."

"And you waited until now to let us know? What about Cas and his civil war upstairs?" Bobby asked.

Gabriel looked irritated, "Once I realized I was down here with you apes, I decided to lay low for a while. I've already fought one brother for your flyboy, and we all saw how well _that_ worked out."

Youko and Hiei exchanged a quiet look and relaxed slightly as they watched the exchange. _'Can you pick anything up from him with your Jagan?' _Youko asked Hiei alone.

Hiei could scarcely believe the gall of the kitsune. Quickly weighing his options, he decided that it was in his best interest to share information. After all, the fox had had the perfect opportunity to kill him and didn't. _'You're asking for my help now? No, I can't get past his shields. I've never felt energy like his before. Are you getting anything?'_

'_No—'_ Youko suddenly became aware of the fact that all other conversations had stopped. Gabriel was now staring intently at Hiei.

"Is there something you two would like to share with the class? You know it's rude to talk while other people are talking?" Gabriel asked snidely and looked meaningfully at Hiei. "And you, stop scratching at the shields. You're not getting through and quite frankly, it's annoying."

Hiei and Youko both looked wide eyed at the angel. Hiei met Youko's eyes, _'He can—'_

'_Yes, I can hear you,'_ Gabriel's voice boomed in their heads. "Now stop whispering," he added aloud.

Hiei and Youko both clamped down hard on their shields and Gabriel just snickered. "Now, where were we?"

"You were about to tell us what you were doing here before I see if the idjits left any holy oil," Bobby answered.

The angel seemed unfazed by Bobby's threat. "Well you see, this is kind of embarrassing, but I got bored."

Contrary to his words the angel seemed more smug than embarrassed. Bobby let out an exasperated sigh. "What did you do this time? No, let me guess. Those knights, they were yours?"

"Very good!" Gabriel clapped his hands in a mocking gesture. "Someone get that man a Kewpie doll."

"This is all very cute and all, but is there a point to this somewhere?" Shizuru asked very nonchalantly as she pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pants pocket. She lit the cancer stick and took a long drag. Youko had to give the woman credit, the girl had balls. She'd been so quiet up until now that it'd been easy to forget she was there. She had enough spiritual awareness to know exactly how much power they were dealing with and still kept a relaxed indifferent attitude.

"The point, young lady, is that while I was having a little bit of fun with the Winchesters, they were jumped by a whole posse of demons," Gabriel answered, staring intently at the end of Shizuru's cigarette.

'_So, you want us to clean up your mess?' _Youko asked.

"Yes well, the demons have gotten Crowley involved and wherever Crowley is Castiel won't be far behind," Gabriel answered.

"And you don't want to get your hands dirty," the old hunter growled. Bobby wasn't sure what to make of Gabriel's implication of Cas following Crowley. Finally, he decided that it was just Gabriel's way of messing with him again.

"What the—" Shizuru yelped. Everyone turned quickly to watch as the end of her cigarette went up like a tiki torch. Gabriel smiled maliciously as Shizuru tossed the offending item away.

"Now, shall we go fetch the Winchesters?" Gabriel asked, still grinning.

Youko laid back down on the lawn as he watched the rest of their makeshift "team" prepare for the rescue mission. While he did appear relaxed, he never once took his eyes off of Gabriel who was now seated on the front porch.

Hiei was the first to join Youko out on the lawn. "So you and Kurama, how does that work?"

Youko averted his eyes from Gabriel for a moment to meet Hiei's intense crimson stare. _'It's a long story, but I'll give you the short version,' _and Youko proceeded to do exactly that.

When the old fox finished, Hiei sat down on the ground beside him and placed a hand on Youko's back. "You've stayed with the humans all this time? I understand that you felt you owed your human mother, but I don't think I would be able to stand it."

'_What about you? It seems like you and Yukina are staying in the human world too,'_ Youko asked.

Inwardly, Hiei sighed. He hated sharing his past, but Youko shared his and he hated owing anyone. "There's no place for us there. Our mother's people threw us off a mountain. If one of King Enma's messengers hadn't found us, we would have died."

Youko was surprised by this revelation. _'They threw both of you away? The Yukina I know was raised by the Koorime. She's a healer, not a fighter.'_

Hiei smirked and tried to picture his sister as a quiet little ice maiden, but failed. The very thought of a quiet, composed Yukina was laughable. But at the same time, he couldn't help but wonder what Yukina's life would have been like if she'd actually been accepted by their people. "We were brought up as servants in King Enma's palace. As we got older, we started training for the palace guard. Over time, we became _friends _with Koenma. That's how we ended up attached to his new spirit detective."

'_Sounds like Koenma trusts you a great deal,' _Youko commented.

Hiei decided that he was done sharing for a time. "What is your Hiei like?"

Youko sighed, _'He's not my Hiei, never was. He was raised by bandits and eventually became one of the greatest warriors in the Makai. He's been my partner since Kurama was quite young. On our first mission together, we teamed up for a raid on the Renkai vault. While we did succeed, we eventually got caught. Consequently, we also wound up working for Koenma. We fought alongside Koenma's spirit detective, Yusuke; Shizuru's brother, Kuwabara; and the great sage, Genki to win the Dark Tournament. Hiei went on to master the Dragon of the Darkness Flame and now, he's heir to the throne of Alaric.' _

Hiei's eyes widened as he realized that Kurama had never been staring at Yukina. He swallowed nervously and chose to switch topics. "And what about the rest of your team?"

'_They're a bunch of idiots, surprisingly capable idiots, but still idiots,' _Youko went on to describe how he and Kurama met Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Genki.

A very disgruntled Yukina emerged followed by Shizuru and Bobby as Youko was finishing his story. "C'mon kiddies, time to hit the road!" Bobby called to Hiei and Youko.

Happy for the distraction, Hiei dashed off to join his sister. Youko followed at a more leisurely pace. _'You okay, Kit,'_ Youko asked silently. The old fox was a little nervous; while he could still feel Kurama's presence, he'd been eerily quiet.

'_I'm still here,'_ Kurama replied weakly. _'This Shizuru packs quite a punch. Amazing how differently things turned out in this dimension.'_

Youko was approaching the rest of the group now. Shizuru was climbing into the driver's seat of a rental car, a blue Toyota Corolla. Gabriel was holding open the passenger's side door and Yukina was climbing in the back. Meanwhile, Bobby was loading a few more weapons into his truck.

'_Do you want to take over?' _Youko asked Kurama alone. _'As much as it pains me to admit, I don't think that I can beat Gabriel in a fair fight and you're better at holding your temper.'_

'_And I'm better at fighting dirty,' _Kurama added smugly. He looked over at the two vehicles. _'Plus, I'll have an easier time fitting it one of the vehicles.'_

Choosing not to give Kurama the satisfaction of admitting the boy was right, Youko reached for the familiar energy needed to complete the transformation and waited.

Nothing happened.

Alarmed, Youko tried again and still _nothing_ happened. Gabriel teleported to the spot next to Youko's right ear. Leaning down, he laid a hand on Youko's scruff and whispered, "You need to learn that there are things in this world much older and much, much more powerful than you."

Youko growled and bared his teeth. Angel or no, Gabriel had to pay. Quick as a snake, Youko lunged forward to bite Gabriel's other hand. He was stopped mere centimeters away as a spark of energy arced from Gabriel to smack Youko squarely on the nose. Youko yipped and fell.

Gabriel subsequently teleported back to the Corolla's passenger seat, but the weight on Kurama's neck remained. Regaining his feet quickly, Youko shook his head vigorously like a dog trying to dry itself off. He shot a pleading look at Hiei and the fire demon clarified. "It's a collar. Hold still there's a tag."

Youko stilled as Hiei came closer. _'What's it say?'_

Hiei took his time inspecting the offending pink rhinestone studded collar, but he couldn't find a latch nor could he slip it off the fox. He picked up the tag and read silently. "I'm sorry, but there's no latch. I can't take it off."

'What _does it say!' _ Youko repeated irritably.

Hiei bit back a laugh as he replied, "Lassie."

"You ain't getting into the front seat of my truck looking like that," Bobby said looking pointedly at Youko.

Youko turned to the Corolla and Shizuru poked her head out. "Don't look at me. My rental agreement doesn't cover pets."

Youko growled at the mentioning of the word "pet," but leapt nimbly into the back of the pickup. Hiei considered his options carefully before waving to his sister and climbing into the passenger side of the pickup.

The sun was setting as the team approached the small town of Flandreau where the Moody County's Sheriff's Office was located. For the most part, the trip passed in silence. Once or twice Bobby attempted to engage the others in small talk, but Hiei didn't speak unless asked a direct question and then he usually only gave one or two word answers. Stuck outside, Youko couldn't even hear the questions.

As they approached the town, Shizuru pulled off the road into the parking lot of an abandoned gas station. Bobby hopped out of the cab and pounded on the walls of the bed of the pickup. "Stay down. Most folks will see you in there and think 'dog.' Sure, you look nothing like any dog breed I've encountered, but people see what they want to believe. None of this will work however, if you walk about parading all those extra tails of yours."

Silently, Youko agreed with the hunter and lay back down in the bed.

"Alright Gabe," Bobby called out. "Where are we headed?"

"There's an old cabin on the north bank of the river two miles out of town. Owners use it for fishing trips but either the owners aren't in residence at the moment or the demons took care of them. The local demons have been using it as a base since Lucifer was sent back into his cage," Gabriel answered.

"Alright, we find someplace safe to stash the vehicles a quarter mile or so from their hidey hole. We wait for full dark and approach on foot. Unless _someone_ wants to teleport us in closer," Bobby glared at Gabriel who pretended not to hear the last comment.

The team found a crowded bar just outside of town and parked at the edge of the lot where there vehicles could go unnoticed until closing time. The group waited in near silence as they watched dusk settle in. The highlight of the evening came when one particularly drunk patron emerged from the bar and spotted Youko. The man stumbled and weaved to the truck and thrust his meaty hand towards Youko. It took every ounce of control Youko had not to tear the drunk's arm off when he spotted the pink collar and asked for _her_ name.

"Careful," Bobby warned. "I'm not sure Lassie has had all her shots."

The look Youko threw Hiei could melt lead. _'Traitor!'_

Hiei pretended not to hear him and after a few minutes of rough petting, the drunk departed. "I think it's dark enough now, don't you?" Gabriel asked casually.

Bobby checked the surrounding area for unwanted company before replying. "I reckon," he muttered as he stepped out of the truck. The rest of the team followed his lead.

"Here, in case anyone sees us," Gabriel quickly passed a small item to Shizuru. The woman grinned and passed it to Yukina whose face lit up with a malicious smile. Yukina approached Youko slowly, showing off her latest acquisition, a baby doll pink leash to match Youko's collar.

Youko sent up a silent prayer. _Inari, whatever did I do to deserve this?_

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

Sam Winchester jerked awake with a start. He found himself tied to a sturdy wooden chair in the middle of a kitchen. "Dean. Dean," he whispered urgently while rocking in the chair. The older Winchester was tied to a chair directly behind Sam, but didn't wake to any of Sam's calls. Sam struggled against the ropes for several minutes before realizing his efforts were in vain. Whoever tied the knots knew what he was doing.

Sam froze as he heard the unmistakable timbre of Crowley's voice coming from an adjacent room. "What the bloody hell were you thinking? No let me finish that for you, you weren't. How do I know? I know because I didn't choose you gormless fools for your ability to think!"

_Ah, hell. _The last thing Sam could remember was being jumped by demons outside of the Moody County Sheriff's Office. The hunter thrashed against the bonds again. "Dean, Dean! I _really _need you to wake up now buddy."

"Well get it sorted! I don't care how you do it. You can put those imbeciles in their precious little Impala and drive it off a cliff for all I care, but I don't want it traced back to me."

Sam frowned. Why would Crowley care if the Winchesters' deaths are traced back to him?

There was a pregnant pause before Sam heard a new speaker sigh with relief. "I didn't think he'd ever leave."

"What do you want to do about the hunters?" asked another demon that Sam recognized as the deputy from earlier.

"We'll figure it out later. Let's finish watching the fight first." There was a soft click followed by the sounds of a UFC fight already in progress.

"Okay, new tactic. Cas, Caaaassss," Sam hissed.

Sam searched the kitchen for any signs of their feathered friend but was unsurprisingly disappointed. Sam was about to try again when he heard a door slowly creeping open. His first thought was that it was the demons from the next room coming to finish them off, but if the noises in the next room were any indication, the demons were still engrossed in the fight. The front door hadn't moved off its hinges, but the sound of toenails on linoleum caused Sam to look lower.

"Cas?" Sam queried. He wasn't sure why Cas would need to use the doggie door, but right now it was Sam's best hope.

A vulpine head came into view as Youko wormed his way into the kitchen. The door was designed for a smaller canine, but Youko still fit, barely. The fox's ears perked up as he carefully inspected the room before moving to help Sam. Youko jumped up to put his forelegs in Sam's lap and looked the hunter square in the eye. _'No more holy water baths, no more poking and proding. You put Kurama or me through anymore of your stupid 'tests' I'll start gnawing off parts of your anatomy,' _Youko growled. Youko then brought as much of his weight as possible on his right paw which was currently resting in a very uncomfortable spot for Sam.

"Message received," Sam muttered through clenched teeth. Youko adjusted his position and began gnawing on the ropes binding the hunter. "You have a plan—"

'_Youko,'_ the fox replied as the first of Sam's bonds loosened. _'Bobby, Hiei, Yukina, and Shizuru are outside covering the exits. They're ready to storm the place as soon as we get Dean to safety.'_

Another rope snapped and Sam was able to wiggle himself free. Sam quickly moved to check his brother while Youko worked on the ropes. There was a nasty bump on Dean's temple and he still wouldn't wake. "We need Castiel. Is he outside too?"

'_No, but Gabriel is.'_ If Sam was surprised about Gabriel's presence, he didn't let it show. The last rope slithered to the ground and Sam hoisted his brother up.

"What is Gabriel doing here?" Sam muttered as he quietly unlocked the front door and deposited Dean outside.

Bobby and Shizuru pushed their way through the front door as soon as Sam got Dean to safety. Following a silent signal from Youko, Yukina went in through the garage and Hiei went in through the back door at the same time. Youko stayed outside to guard the brothers and make sure that none of the demons slipped past their net.

Youko watched the house carefully as Sam saw to his brother. The fox listened with only half an ear as the younger hunter mumbled on about the pros and cons of taking Dean to a hospital. Finally, Hiei sent back a telepathic message letting them know the house was clear. It was only then that Youko concerned himself with Dean.

Dean didn't bear any signs of trauma aside from the lump on his forehead. Sam had a matching lump, but the younger hunter seemed fine. Youko knew that head trauma was tricky, but he leaned closer to sniff the hunter's breath to check for possible toxins the hunter may have consumed(just to be sure). Dean's face scrunched up as Youko's wet nosed brushed against his face. Dean moaned, "Ick, Sammy, what's with your breath?"

Youko's ears flattened against his skull as Dean's eyelids fluttered open. "A fox? Those demons must've hit me harder than I thought." Dean sat up slowly, and was surprised when his foxy "hallucination" stayed. Finally noticing the excess tails, he muttered, "What the hell?"

"Dean, meet Youko," Sam said with false cheer.

Bobby stepped out of the house a heartbeat later followed by Shizuru and Yukina. "Get anything useful?" Sam asked.

"No. Five minutes alone with the twins and they high tailed it back to Hell. Bunch o' pussies," Bobby answered.

"They just don't make demons like they used to," Gabriel sighed wistfully. "Well, my work here is done." There was a flutter of wings and the angel disappeared.

"Let me guess," Dean said dryly, "the knights?"

"Uh-huh," Bobby answered nodding.

'_Where's Hiei?'_ Youko asked.

"Out back burning the bodies," Bobby answered.

Youko trotted around the house. As he did, he searched for the familiar energy he needed to transform. Without Gabriel to block him, he transitioned back to Kurama easily. The redhead stopped and stretched as he reached Hiei's side.

The smaller demon looked surprised to see Kurama. "You're back?"

Kurama smirked, "Clearly."

"Good," Hiei responded.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_I am American; therefore, I apologize if I used any of the British slang incorrectly. I'm always looking for volunteers if there are any British fans of this fic that want to help XP _

_There was a bit of Hiei/Youko bonding in this chapter and Youko had to answer a lot of questions. I'm sorry that I shortened the majority of the origin stories but let's all face it, we know how Kurama met Yusuke, Kuwabara, etc._


	10. Drugged

_Last semester was brutal, but I'm out of class until late August. Please forgive this extremely late update._

_I don't own Supernatural or Yu Yu Hakusho. This is strictly not for profit._

**Chapter Ten: Drugged**

It was an ordinary morning for the majority of the commuters at the Haneda International Airport, or rather it was until the former Spirit Detective and his team arrived. It was four in the morning and most of the travelers were business professionals who were used to a quiet pre-dawn flight with their ritual cup of coffee. This morning however, the peace was shattered by a rather boisterous verbal fight. Travelers were moving quickly around the group as it appeared that the altercation was escalating to something more physical.

"Are you sure that you can't just open a portal or something," Yusuke demanded. He clutched a beer can like it was a life line. The one great thing about airports is that you can find alcohol virtually any hour of the day.

"Yusuke," Botan hissed, "you're making a scene." The ferry girl's eyes darted back and forth nervously.

It was becoming increasingly obvious that the other commuters passing through the terminal were giving the couple a wide berth. Yusuke let out a frustrated sigh and rocked back on his heels. "Don't care Botan. Now can the BS, why can't you just open a portal!"

Botan's voice was shaky as she answered, "Koenma wouldn't go into detail. He said it would violate some old treaty King Enma set up with the Lord of the West. Physically, I could open a portal, but we don't want to start an inter-dimensional incident."

"Screw the old man in his treaties. Tell the toddler that I ain't gettin' on no stinkin' plane!" Yusuke frowned into his drink. Ever since his yokai heritage came to light, it had become harder and harder to get drunk. He glanced back towards the bar and wondered if he could convince the bartender to pour him something stronger.

Botan rolled her eyes and moved between Yusuke and the bar. "Because why should the 'Great Yusuke Urameshi' care about diplomacy? What is this really about Yusuke?"

Yusuke leaned forward and stared directly at Botan. "Botan it's sixteen hours from here to San Diego, _sixteen_."

Botan nodded. The reaper was well aware of how long the trip was, but failed to see the significance.

Yusuke realized he was going to have to spell it out for her and sighed. "Sixteen hours of just you, me, and Mr. Sunshine over there," he nodded towards the spot against the wall where Hiei, Genki, and Yukina stood waiting, "and a plane full of clueless humans."

Botan's cheerful expression faded and she struggled to swallow a dry lump in her throat. "Oh dear. The first crying baby or rude passenger…"

"Exactly," Yusuke nodded gravely. "And airport security won't allow him to take his katana on board, which will only serve to improve his mood."

"I think I need to call Koenma," Botan grabbed her communicator and began looking for someplace quiet. "Maybe it's not too late to send Kazuma instead."

Yusuke watched as Botan scurried off. He wasn't sure what outcome to hope for. Certainly Kuwabara's ramblings would be easier to deal with on the long flight to the States. At the same time, Yusuke thought he could understand why Hiei was so insistent on accompanying him on this mission. It would be better for everyone if Botan would just open a damn portal already.

He hoped for Kurama's sake that he was right about Hiei's intentions. Heaven knows, the fox deserved a little bit of happiness. Yusuke smiled as he thought of his own wedding six months ago. Botan had insisted on helping Keiko with the preparations and Koenma had actually footed the bill. The end result was a lot more fanfare than Yusuke would have liked, but ultimately gorgeous. Keiko's dress alone must have cost a small fortune and there were flowers everywhere. Yusuke knew Kurama must have had a hand in the latter. Through it all, Kurama had stood by Yusuke's side as his best man. But despite all of Yusuke's best efforts to get him a "hook up", Kurama politely declined every offer. Even when the band started playing at the reception, he refused to dance with anyone aside from Keiko and Shiori.

"Hey, hey! What's up?" Yusuke was jolted out of his reverie by a drunken slur to his right. Yusuke moved to swat away the drunk only to find…Hiei?

"What the fuck?" The sudden outburst turned even more heads of the morning commuters. Yusuke scanned the airport frantically for Botan and the rest of his friends. He quickly noticed Genki and Yukina moving purposefully towards him.

Genki pulled Hiei aside and left Yusuke alone with Yukina. "What's up, Hag?" Hiei slurred.

Yusuke watched Hiei and Genki depart with a look of complete disbelief. "What did...How did…" Yusuke stuttered at Yukina, truly at a loss for words.

Yukina smiled shyly. "Genki suggested that it might be better for everyone if Hiei _mellowed_ for a little while. Is that alright? I'm sorry if—"

"You drugged him?"

Yukina nodded, "Is it alright?"

"Well, I'm really not looking forward to his reaction when he finally snaps out of it," Yusuke chuckled and sighed with relief. "But you may have just solved a lot of our problems. How long will it last?"

The ice maiden looked very sheepish as she replied. "About twelve hours. I'm sorry but it's the best I could do. He has such a high metabolism and I didn't want to risk overdosing him."

Four hours with a homicidal fire demon was a whole hell of a lot better than sixteen. "You did wonderfully Yukina. Now let's go find Botan. We have a plane to catch."

It didn't take Yusuke long to locate Botan. The ferry girl was already trotting across the concourse. Locking eyes with Yusuke, she soberly shook her head.

"Hic—Hey, pretty lady," Hiei called as she passed.

Botan dropped her compact communicator as she whirled to face Hiei. Her eyes were round like saucers as she incredulously stared at Hiei. "Yusuke, is Hiei…stoned?"

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

"I see that angel left you with a souvenir," Hiei smirked and pointed to Kurama's neck.

Kurama reached up and was surprised to find the collar still around his neck. His eyebrows rose significantly and his fingers quickly fumbled for the catch.

"Let me see," Hiei commanded as he moved behind Kurama.

The fox obediently leaned down so Hiei could get a closer look. Hiei gathered up the scarlet mane with one hand and used the other to gently remove the offending collar. Kurama shuddered slightly at Hiei's touch. Intellectually, he knew that this man was not the one he loved, but right now his body had other ideas.

'_That's what you get for denying your own desires for so long,'_ Youko commented smugly.

Kurama frowned and resolved to do better. He'd taken on some of the strongest yokai in the Makai; he would not be ruled by his hormones.

However, it seemed that the shudder had not gone unnoticed by Hiei. The fire demon stared at the fox's neck and took a few minutes longer than necessary to release Kurama's hair. When Hiei moved around to face Kurama again there was a look in his eyes that could only be described as lust.

Hiei subconsciously licked his lips before preparing to speak, but Kurama stopped him with a look. As tempting as this Hiei was, Kurama knew that all Hiei felt (all they both felt) was lust. To take Hiei up on any sort of offer would be a betrayal. It didn't matter if his Hiei ever found out; Kurama would know and he would never forgive himself.

Hiei picked up of Kurama's mood change even though no words had been exchanged. Turning the collar over in his hands, he asked, "Could I keep this?"

Kurama gave a mischievous smile. "I'd prefer that you burn it. But if you want to keep it, I won't stop you. Come on, we should catch up with the others."

Dean met up with Kurama and Hiei about halfway back to the bar where they left the vehicles. His clothing was disheveled and there was an impressive lump on his forehead, but at least he was finally upright. Kurama slowed his gait so that the hunter could keep pace. "Are you feeling any better?" Kurama asked politely.

Dean grimaced, "Nothing that beer and copious amounts of Tylenol won't cure." He rubbed the palm of his hand across his forehead and winced when his hand touched the bump. "What about you? You're really one of those spirit-fox-thingies?"

Kurama smirked, "Hiei, Yukina, and I are yokai. Can I presume that Bobby and Shizuru have told you what yokai are already?" Kurama eyed the Dean curiously, trying to gage his reaction.

Dean nodded slowly. "So after all the tests and headaches I put you through, why'd you save me? You know Sam and I hunt monsters for a living. Wouldn't you be better off letting us rot?"

Hiei bristled at the word "monster." His hand migrated to his sword and Kurama moved his hand to stop him from doing anything rash. Kurama met the hunter's eyes as he answered. "Perhaps, you should reconsider your definition of the word 'monster'."

Hiei made no attempt to draw his sword, but he didn't move his hand either. The fire demon let out another low growl while Kurama and Dean continued to stare each other down. Dean broke first; he chuckled as he lowered his gaze. "I suppose I deserve that. Truce?" he asked, holding out his hand.

The tension in Hiei's shoulders eased and Kurama figured that it was safe to release him. Kurama shook Dean's hand and smiled wryly, "Agreed."

Hiei watched the two for a moment. "I think I'm going to be sick. I'm going to find Yukina."

**XxxLine BreakxxX **

Kurama stood next to Sam as he watched the twins pile into the rented Corolla. The sun emerged from behind the clouds and the fox moaned quietly and moved his hand to shield his eyes. On Sam's opposite side, Dean mirrored Kurama's actions.

"Serves you two right," Sam chuckled.

Kurama glared at Sam and silently considered the consequences of tearing the younger hunter's throat out. After a night of drinking with Shizuru, he and Dean had the mother of all hangovers.

'_I'm not entirely sure this Shizuru is human,' _Youko moaned to Kurama. _'How can she drink three yokai under the table?'_

After a few more minutes in deep conversation, Shizuru finally bade the Winchesters farewell and Bobby joined Kurama and the brothers on the porch. "Are you certain that you can't stay?" Kurama asked Shizuru.

The spirit detective put out her cigarette and answered, "No rest for the wicked. We've been gone too long already. A new yokai calling himself Windmaster Jinn is tearing apart the Tottori Prefecture."

Kurama frowned. "Be careful. I met Jinn during the Dark Tournament. Even our best fighter, Yusuke, was only able to fight him to a draw. Also, he wasn't known for working alone. Watch out for an ice apparition named Toya; he's not to be taken lightly."

Shizuru studied Kurama carefully, before nodding. "Thanks, we'll keep that in mind."

Later in the evening, Bobby drove Kurama to the airport in Sioux Falls to say goodbye to their friends. The old fox would have preferred to travel alone, but he wasn't licensed to drive in this dimension, much less the US.

While they awaited the arrival of the Spirit Detective Team's flight, Kurama shared everything he knew about Jinn and his team from the Dark Tournament. There was no telling how much this Windmaster and the Jinn Kurama knew had in common, but the fox hoped that his knowledge would give Koenma's team an advantage.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to join you?" Kurama asked and not for the first time.

"I'm positive," Shizuru answered. "If you set foot on Japanese soil, King Enma will have your head served up on a plate."

"I'm not the same person—"

Yukina cut Kurama off. "I somehow doubt that Enma will give you the time to explain. He's not exactly the 'forgive and forget' type. But by all means, you're welcome to come along and try. It should be fun to watch." The ice apparition's grin was positively feral.

The arrival of the team's flight was announced over the PA system cutting off any further arguments. Yukina and Shizuru said their goodbyes, but Hiei hung back.

Hiei urged the girls to go on ahead saying, "Go. I'll join you at the gate."

Bobby excused himself, promising to meet Kurama back at the truck.

"I'm glad I got this chance to meet you," Kurama told Hiei quietly.

"These angels sound like your best chance for a ride home," Hiei said. "Don't you have somebody waiting for you?"

Kurama leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Hiei's forehead. "I hope so. Now go, before you miss your flight." Kurama turned and left the airport without looking back. He didn't want Hiei's last image of him to be filled with tears.

**XxxLine BreakxxX**

_I know. This chapter was a bit short. Please don't hurt me!_

_Chapter 11 (the next chapter) is presently 5,245 words and 14 pages long (and counting). It is also in desperate need of editing. Expect it in the next few days._


End file.
